I met Yancey about three years ago. After an introductory discussion about work, the topic of the Lord came up and, as Christians do, we began to share excitedly about what God was doing in our lives. After a matter of minutes he revealed something incredibly personal. A few months earlier he had been diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia accompanied by a three-to-five-year life expectancy. He had come to peace with the future God had laid out for him, as short as it may be, and had determined that he was going to evangelize at any opportunity and trust God to use it for His glory. “Evangelize and trust” had become his life’s focus.
The next morning he waved me over and in a serious tone, said, “You’ll never believe what happened this morning.” He had stopped for a breakfast burrito at a food truck on the way in. As he waited for his order, he noticed a minivan pulled over on the same shoulder. In the passenger seat was a woman sitting silently with children buckled in the back, but the man was standing outside the vehicle, staring vacantly in the distance. Yancey walked over, told the man he looked like he was struggling and asked if he could pray with him. The man said yes and shared that he had just received a phone call from his doctor that he had been diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia. He was trying to digest the information before telling his waiting family. Yancey was able to tell him that it was the exact condition that he had as well and that there was hope in the Lord! The man’s wife joined them and began crying (as was I at this point of the story). “Are you an angel?” she asked Yancey. He assured her he was not, although, as the Greek word for angel indicates, it was clear that like one, he was sent by God.
If you believe in the sovereignty of God, then you recognize that He can and does do amazing things just like that. However, this was an unusual opportunity for me to witness one small way that He worked that out. I saw that in His wisdom God decreed that Yancey would have the condition he does. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord” (Is. 55:8).
I also saw how His child responded to the adversity of the terminal diagnosis assigned to him. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Yancey took it head on, determining to use it specifically to expand the kingdom of God. He chose to evangelize and trust.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (Jas. 1:2–4)
I then saw how Yancey’s choice to “let steadfastness have its full effect” was used by God to accomplish an added purpose in the lives of another family. Yancey did not know what was in store for him at breakfast, but he had previously determined to be a willing servant to the King. The combination of his condition and his love for God made Yancey the perfect instrument for that exquisitely curated encounter.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (Jn. 13:34–35)
God makes use of humble, committed laborers. Does that describe you? Do you meet your trials without resistance? Do you calculate how they might be used to bring glory to God? Do you commit your situation back to God, explicitly expressing that you accept your circumstances and are willing to serve Him through them? Do you take the initiative when you see others hurting, being quick to direct them to God?
My friend’s commitment to “evangelize and trust” goes beyond sharing the gospel. It is a disposition toward acceptance of one’s own situation accompanied by a confidence to act on God’s behalf. Ask God to help you make evangelize and trust a way of life.
Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in You. (Ps. 33:20–22)