WILLS POINT, TX – K P Yohannan, founder of GFA World (Gospel for Asia), has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church, to help the poor and deprived worldwide — shares on the real insecurities that overwhelm every believer, and the security and sufficiency that can only be found in the Lord.

KP Yohannan: Security in God’s Sovereign Hands

God is sovereign, and we can trust Him to lead us. When we don’t understand what’s happening or when we feel insecure, overwhelmed, or inadequate in what God has called each of us to do, we have nothing to worry about. It is all in the Lord’s hands.

John the Baptist was in the public eye long before Christ: he had numerous disciples and a lot of public attention. But soon people started going to Jesus more than they were going to John. One day, some of John’s people brought this to his attention, essentially saying, “Master, we’ve got a problem. Jesus is getting the big crowds now. You are losing your popularity” (see John 3:26).

But John basically says, “You don’t understand. We can’t receive anything unless it has come from God. I’m really happy that Jesus is receiving all this attention. Don’t you remember? I came to promote Him. This was the role I was given to play” (see John 3:28–30).

John the Baptist knew that God was the One who placed him where he was, and this knowledge gave him security. Even when John’s disciples joined Jesus, John was glad because he understood the larger picture (see John 1:35–37).

Our Source of Sufficiency

When we feel overwhelmed in the roles God has given us, we can rest in the Lord. Especially as believers, it is very common to face challenges and crises. We may not weep on the outside, but inside often we are trembling and thinking, I don’t know if I can do this!

Whether you think you are qualified or not, remember, it was God who placed you where you are. Therefore, you can be sure that God will give you the strength and ability to keep going.

We cannot afford to evaluate situations based only on ourselves—we must make conclusions based on God. That’s what David did when faced with the giant. He told Goliath, “You may look big, but I am not coming in my name; I am coming in the name of a God who makes me able” (1 Samuel 17:45, paraphrased).

Jonathan Edwards, a respected theologian from the 1700s, wrote in his work, Christian Love and It’s [sic] Fruit:

A truly humble man . . . is sensible of his natural distance from God; of his dependence on him; of the insufficiency of his own power and wisdom, and that it is by God’s power that he is upheld and provided for, and that he needs God’s wisdom to lead and guide him, and his might to enable him to do what he ought to do for him. (p. 65)

Know that He will continue to stand by you if you remain humble and your heart is with the Lord.

WILLS POINT, TX – K P Yohannan, founder of GFA World (Gospel for Asia), whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church, to serve the deprived and downcast worldwide — shares on the danger of failing to recognize God as our Father, and be consumed with worldly goals instead of the eternal reward in Him.

Jesus told a remarkable parable about two brothers. We find it in the Gospel of Luke 15:11–32.

In the story, the younger brother takes all the money he can and runs off to some foreign land, lives a bad life and wastes everything. Then he repents and goes home.

His father is loving and gracious to him. Soon, the younger brother is in the house having the time of his life—in our own words, he is having the best hamburgers and the best pizza and the best ice cream. But somebody is missing from the dining table—his older brother.

The father is so happy, but the older son is seething, refusing to go inside and celebrate. He snaps at his father and basically says, “I’ve been living in this house all these years, and I’ve served you like a slave! I never wasted your money! I built this! I did that! I did everything you said!

“And you never gave me a feast! But you give one to this worthless, no-good son of yours who wasted all your money! I don’t want to come inside” (Luke 15:28–30, paraphrased).

And the father basically replies, “My son, my son. All of these things are yours! You can have the best food every morning, day and night. It’s all yours! Whoever told you it’s not yours?” (see Luke 15:31).

Employee or Son?

How do you explain this?

Even when the younger son was a rebel, his heart was knit with the affection of his father. So, when everything was gone, he said to himself, I can go to my father.

But for the older son, it was different. Even when everything was provided, he could not get inside the house. His relationship with his father was not one of father and son; rather, it was an employer and his employee. He was working for wages: respect, recognition and understanding. Even though he had all the possibilities as the eldest son, his heart was not in a loving relationship with his father. This same thing can happen in our lives.

We can become so busy in ministry and in serving the Lord, that we forget why we are doing it in the first place. In the end, we can come to the place in which we are doing all the work for money, recognition, reputation, honor or whatever else. It’s all about what we get, not because of the affection of the Father who sees us in secret.

But remember—even when we lose our focus, or when we have failed or have become resentful in our service to Him, God in His kindness deals with us deep down in our hearts and reminds us that He is our Father. His mercies are new every morning, and He will run after us again and again. We are His beloved children, and we are safe in His hands.

What can you be thankful for today? Read this article on thankfulness by Bishop Danny Punnose.

About K P Yohannan

K.P. Yohannan, founder and director of GFA World (Gospel for Asia) and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church (BEC), has written more than 250 books, including Revolution in World Missions, an international bestseller with more than 4 million copies in print. He and his wife, Gisela, have two grown children, Daniel and Sarah, who both serve the Lord with their families.

About Gospel for Asia

GFA World (Gospel for Asia) is a nonprofit organization serving the “least of these” in Asia since its beginning in 1979, often in places where no one else is serving. GFA World workers serve as the hands and feet of Christ by ministering to people’s needs so they can understand the love of God for them for the first time. GFA World is engaged in dozens of projects, such as caring for poor children, slum dwellers and widows and orphans; providing clean water by funding wells; supporting medical missions; and meeting the needs of those in leprosy colonies. Through GFA World’s Bridge of Hope Program, tens of thousands of children are being rescued from the generational curses of poverty and hopelessness.

Find out more about Gospel for Asia in the video “A Year in Review with K.P. Yohannan.”

Read what George Verwer, Francis Chan, Dr. David Mains and others have to say about GFA World.

Keep encouraged and get your regular dose of challenge through other articles on Patheos by KP Yohannan Metropolitan, or on his blog at kpyohannan.org.

You can learn more about K.P. Yohannan Metropolitan by clicking here.

Learn more about KP Yohannan, Founder of GFA World, and Metropolitan of the Believers Eastern Church: Facebook | Radio | Twitter | Amazon | Sermon Index | Goodreads | OnePlace | About | Integrity | Lawsuit Update | 5 Distinctives | 6 Remarkable Facts | Book | Wikipedia | Francis Chan | Lawsuit Response | International Offices | Missionary and Child Sponsorship | Transforming Communities through God’s Love

WILLS POINT, TX – KP Yohannan, founder of Gospel for Asia (GFA World), has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church, to help the poor and deprived worldwide — shares on the ever present danger of being controlled by negative thoughts of fear, and the need to trust God and choose life and love over fear.

From the time we are young, it seems we are always afraid of something—whether that thing is real or imaginary. It is natural, like breathing. We fear both the known and the unknown. And even though studies show most things we fear seldom happen, we continue to be afraid.

Job was a man who seemed to have everything going for him. He had respect, wealth, healthy children and a multitude of servants. His influence stretched far and wide, and he was even called the greatest of the men of the East (see Job 1:1–3).

But even when everything was going well for him, Job was afraid. Soon all that he had was destroyed in one crisis after another. And after sitting in ashes, not speaking for seven days, Job made a very revealing statement: “The thing I greatly feared has come upon me” (see Job 2:13; 3:25, emphasis mine).

That means when all of Job’s cattle were safe, he feared they would be taken. When his children were healthy and secure, he feared they would perish. In fact, he was so concerned that they might sin unintentionally that he regularly offered sacrifices on their behalf, as a preventative measure to be sure they were in good standing with God (see Job 1:5).

I have found that it is often when things are going especially well that we start to fear things will go awry. We tend to think, All good things must come to an end and What goes up must come down. Unfortunately, that theory means the more we are given, the more we have to worry about losing—whether authority, status, respect, money or people. It is very easy for fearful thoughts to sneak in—thoughts that maybe everything will fail or fall apart.

I know of several able people, even believers, who made a shipwreck of their lives by giving in to fear about the financial security of their future. Many others were destroyed because they gave into fear that people were out to get them, or that catastrophes would happen to them.

Consider King Saul. He was terrified of what might happen to him if David continued gaining popularity, and he strove to prevent David’s success. But in the end, it was Saul who lost out on everything.

Instead of taking responsibility for the negative thoughts of fear, there are times for all of us that we allow these fears to control us and we begin to try and preserve our own life. And when we do that, we are stepping into the realm of uncertainty and instability. As Christ’s Church—His bride—we must remember that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).