A Holy Summons to the Hard Places

Christ does not call us to comfort. He calls us to Himself. He calls us to a cross-bearing life that moves toward need, not away from it. “Then He said to all, ‘If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me’” (Luke 9:23).

This call flows straight from His own mission. “As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you” (John 20:21). The Lord sends us into places that stretch faith, test resolve, and magnify grace.

The Master’s Mandate: Not Optional

The marching orders are clear and binding. “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18–20).

The Spirit empowers this obedience wherever He sends. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). We take these words as true, clear, and binding because “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Why the Gospel Moves Toward Difficulty

Hard places do not deter the gospel. They showcase its power. The pattern of Jesus and the apostles pushes the church toward the margins, the resistant, and the unreached.

- Because Jesus bore reproach, we go to Him outside the camp. “Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore” (Hebrews 13:13).

- Because the harvest is real. “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest” (Luke 10:2).

- Because redemption is for all peoples. “With Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).

- Because the lost cannot believe without hearing and heralds must be sent (Romans 10:14–15).

- Because the apostolic pattern aimed where Christ was not yet named (Romans 15:20), even amid many adversaries (1 Corinthians 16:9).

From this vision flows courage for the next step.

Counting the Cost and Embracing the Cross

Real mission embraces real cost. The Word frames suffering not as accident but as gift. “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him” (Philippians 1:29). This does not glamorize pain. It clarifies purpose.

Grace meets us at the point of need. “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9). The Lord uses trials to refine saints and advance the gospel (Acts 14:22; 1 Peter 4:12–13; 2 Timothy 3:12).

- Costs: loss of comfort, misunderstanding, resistance, spiritual warfare, material lack, and at times persecution.

- Promises: the presence of Christ, sustaining grace, fruit in due season, fellowship with His sufferings, and eternal reward (Matthew 5:10–12; Mark 10:29–30; Galatians 6:9).

Preparing Hearts, Homes, and Churches

Obedience in hard places begins at home. Preparation is spiritual before it is logistical. Pastors, elders, and teams cultivate character, conviction, and calling in the light of the Word and by the leading of the Spirit.

“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off” (Acts 13:2–3). Healthy sending rests on worship, fasting, prayer, and clear commissioning.

- Ground everything in Scripture and sound doctrine (Acts 20:27–32; Titus 2).

- Pray specifically for open doors and bold speech (Colossians 4:3; Ephesians 6:19–20).

- Build prayer teams and intercessory rhythms.

- Train in evangelism, disciple making, and suffering well (1 Thessalonians 2:8; 2 Timothy 2:3).

- Practice cultural humility and language learning while guarding the gospel (Galatians 1:8).

- Plan for member care, accountability, and healthy teams.

- Prepare families with sober joy, contingency plans, and durable community.

Serving Faithfully in Hard Soil

Fruitfulness in difficult places looks like steadfast, Scripture-saturated, Spirit-dependent plodding. Seed sown with tears yields a harvest in time.

- Keep the main thing the main thing: proclaim Christ crucified and risen, call to repentance and faith, baptize, and teach obedience (1 Corinthians 2:2; Matthew 28:19–20).

- Share the gospel clearly and often; be ready to defend the hope within. “Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

- Form simple, reproducible patterns of discipleship and gathering that locals can own and multiply (2 Timothy 2:2; Acts 2:42–47).

- Model holiness, hard work, and integrity, whether supported or tentmaking (Acts 20:34–35; 1 Thessalonians 2:9).

- Expect God’s steady advance. “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

- Labor with hope. “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Encouragement for Senders and Rope-Holders

Those who go and those who send share one mission. The church that holds the rope stands shoulder to shoulder with the team on the field. This is active partnership, not passive spectatorship.

Strengthen your role with intentionality and joy. Gospel partnership bears real fruit to your account and real care to your brothers and sisters far away (Philippians 1:5; 4:17; 3 John 5–8).

- Pray specifically, persistently, and Scripturally.

- Give generously, predictably, and sacrificially.

- Communicate encouragement and Scripture often.

- Offer practical care: logistics, counseling access, secure tech, education helps, respite housing.

- Welcome the nations at your doorstep through hospitality and local outreach.

- Advocate before authorities and networks as needed, wisely and honorably (Romans 13:1–7; Acts 22–26).

Our Certain Hope

The finish line is sure. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). History bends to the decree of the King.

He will have His ransomed people. “With Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). Until that number is complete, we go with confidence, because He is with us always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

Conclusion

The path into the hard places is the path of obedience, love, and living hope. Christ sends, the Spirit empowers, the Father delights to glorify His Son among the nations. So we take the next faithful step, and then the next.

- Obey rulers while fearing God supremely (Romans 13:1–7; 1 Peter 2:13–17; Acts 4–5).

- When commands collide, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

- Distinguish faith-filled courage from presumptuous testing of God (Matthew 4:5–7; Proverbs 22:3).

- Contextualization without compromise

- Become winsomely all things while guarding the one gospel. “I have become all things to all men, so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22; Galatians 1:8).

- Use local forms where possible, reject syncretism where required (2 John 9; Jude 3).

- Spiritual warfare and prayer

- Expect opposition from the world, the flesh, and the devil (Ephesians 6:10–18; 1 Peter 5:8–10).

- Pray Scripture, fast, and persevere in intercession for boldness, protection, and open doors (Colossians 4:3; Acts 4:29–31).

- Do not be outwitted by the schemes of the enemy (2 Corinthians 2:11).

- Suffering, trauma, and perseverance

- Normalize trials in your discipleship pathway (Acts 14:22; 1 Thessalonians 3:3).

- Build care plans for trauma, lament, and restoration (Psalms of lament; 2 Corinthians 1:3–5).

- Keep the cross central and the crown in view (Romans 8:18; 2 Timothy 4:7–8).

- Family, children, and longevity

- Shepherd marriages and children with proactive rhythms of worship, rest, and play (Deuteronomy 6:4–9; Ephesians 6:4).

- Cultivate sustainable pace, sabbath, and secure attachment to both sending and local community.

- Plan for schooling, medical care, contingency, and periodic debriefs.

- Security, integrity, and truthfulness

- Walk in integrity while stewarding information wisely (Proverbs 10:9; 11:13).

- Use security practices that protect locals first, then workers, without deceitful messaging.

- Speak plainly about Christ when the Lord opens doors (Acts 28:30–31).

- Team, accountability, and plurality

- Favor teams with clear roles, mutual submission, and elder oversight (Acts 13–14; Titus 1:5).

- Keep short accounts, practice regular confession, and maintain shared rule of life.

- Engage external coaching and periodic health assessments.

- Strategy and patience

- Aim where Christ is not yet named (Romans 15:20), yet honor the long obedience in the same direction.

- Prioritize prayer, proclamation, and reproducible disciple-making over mere activity metrics (Luke 10; Acts 19:9–10).

- Sow broadly, disciple deeply, entrust locally (2 Timothy 2:2).

- Hold exit and handoff plans from day one, aiming for mature, self-led churches (Acts 14:23).

- Mercy and word together

- Good works adorn sound doctrine (Titus 2:10; 3:8, 14).

- Serve the poor, the refugee, the prisoner, and the vulnerable as you preach Christ (James 1:27; Matthew 25:35–36).

- Guard against drifting into a gospel-less humanitarianism or a deed-less proclamation.

- Diaspora and digital opportunities

- Engage unreached peoples that God has brought to your city (Acts 17:26–27).

- Use secure digital tools for Scripture access, evangelism, and training, while protecting partners.

- Disciple online toward embodied, local church life.

- Boldness with gentleness

- Speak the truth in love, seasoned with grace (Ephesians 4:15; Colossians 4:6).

- Remember the tone of Christ toward sinners and sufferers, and His steel toward falsehood and hardness of heart.

- Depend continually on promised grace. “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

- Finishing well

- Keep the gospel central, the Scriptures open, and the nations in view to the end (Psalm 96; Matthew 24:14).

- Stay lowly, stay accountable, and stay amazed at grace (1 Corinthians 15:10).

- Hold fast to the promise that the Lamb will have the reward of His suffering (Revelation 5:9).