"There is No Limit ..."

"to what God will accomplish through you
if you don't mind who gets the credit."

"There is No Limit to what God will accomplish through you if you don't mind who gets the credit."

quote from Judith Vanderbeek, January 1992
intercessor & missionary
died from cancer 1993

Mary Youmans
missionary
cancer 1994

Linda Davidson
intercessor
cancer 1997

Donna Wall
intercessor
cancer 2003

The Vietnam War memorial is sobering reminder of the price that was paid by others so that we Americans can have our freedom.

I wonder how long of a wall we'd have to construct if we truly gave credit to those who have paid throughout their life and by their life for us Christians to have our freedom.

The four ladies mentioned above were some of the godliest women I've known. Working as missionaries, mothers, teachers and prayer warriors they were never given the credit that they deserved. In fact, I feel the only thing they ever received (this side of heaven) for their efforts was cancer. The disease that claimed all of their lives.

I've thought a lot about their sacrifice and service. On those days when I day dream about all of the great and "exceedingly above all I can ask or imagine" stuff that I feel God wants to accomplish through me, I remember the advice from Judy. "There is no limit..."

I think as Americans we love that first part. We know and are eager to believe God for all the great stuff. We build our humugo churches, homes, IRAs, legacies and egos knowing that God just wants to bless his children.

And the truth is that he does (want to bless us). There is a reason that the Western world (Europe and America) is so filthy stinking rich ... but it has nothing to do with our resources, ingenuity, work ethic or forms of government. I think it goes back to a whole bunch of forgotten ladies who prayed, served, raised families and taught Sunday schools. From this community came William Penn, Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, George Whitfield and in the 18th century ...

But what about the credit? For that is something that really gets our imagination running. I did a Google search (talk about doing some research!!) and got 380,000, 244,000, 480,000, and 9,470 hits respectively for the aforementioned men. I've done searches on my own name (the ego doesn't land far from the tree) and had 138 hits (all from nepotistic sites; mainly this one). When I did a search for the ladies mentioned above I received maybe 500 hits total, but I couldn't find a single hit that was actually about the ladies I knew and loved. There wasn't a single hit for Judith Vanderbeek. Of course once this article is published online she will finally get some credit, but that's not nearly the reward she deserves.

So what is the point of this article?

What would you rather have God do for your faithful service to Him?

Bless you with credit and increase your Google hit count fame?

Bless you with houses, lands, cars and fortunes?

Use you to bless others, bringing the lost into God's family?

In the end we can choose only one path. God may bless that choice and add some of the other stuff (as he did for the men of God mentioned above) but then again he may take your service and pour it out on the ground because it is too pure and lovely to waste.