An Everyday Labourer For God’s Kingdom
posted by Navigators on November 6th, 2018 in Discipleship | Evangelism
Kristin Coulson, from Compass, Spring 2018
When you think of a labourer, do the words “manual work, dirty, and hard” come to mind? What is Jesus talking about when he calls us “labourers for the harvest fields” in Matthew 9?
Belinda Krause and her husband, Nathan, live in Canberra and are a young couple seeking to share Christ where they are at and to honour God in all that they do. Belinda Krause is an everyday labourer for Christ in the workplace and is involved with other young professionals in Canberra.
Nathan and Belinda, everyday labourers in Canberra.
She was introduced to the Navigators ten years ago while she was a student at Macquarie University. Over those years, the Navigators have helped her develop a vision for becoming a labourer in the harvest fields.
Belinda’s desire is to be a witness for Christ to the people around her. God’s Word reminds her of this purpose for her life and encourages her to remain reliant on Him for His purposes. This is not always easy, as it is often easier to shy away from opportunities out of fear. It is also discouraging when you don’t see opportunities arise or movement happening in the hearts of those around you. Colossians 3:17 encourages her greatly as she faces the challenges of labouring in her community:
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:17
We often think that the only way we are being effective in ministering to others is if we are getting people into a Bible study or seeing many come to faith. While these are opportunities we pray for, Belinda recognises that it starts by building strong relationships with people and praying for God to open opportunities for the gospel. This means being intentional to spend time with people, whether it is by going out for lunch or by simply taking initiative with them in conversation. In her neighbourhood, this may be taking muffins to a neighbour or asking them over for a meal. It takes time to build friendships and trust through one-on-one conversations as she walks through everyday life with those around her. As relationships build and she is praying for specific people, God enables opportunities to share more personally about her faith.
Belinda shared how the task of sharing the gospel with those around us can sometimes be over-whelming, especially when you are surrounded by unbelievers and feel the task is too large. Recently in her Bible study group, they have been praying about finding two to invest in, one of little faith and one who doesn’t yet believe. This has helped her to focus on praying for a few and not to be overwhelmed.
It is often a very slow process as we seek to build deep relationships with those around us and it can often appear that nothing is happening. There are times in life that we may feel like we are doing this well, and others where we feel we are failing. But, as Belinda insists, we cannot lose heart over those who are so dear to us. We can simply seek God, trust Him, pray diligently, and encourage one another in loving those around us for Christ. What a blessing to be a part of the Navigator community to have fellowship with one another weekly, to pray and encourage one another, and to share with one another what God is doing in the communities around us. God continually reminds Belinda of the mission God has given for her life and has given her examples of what it looks like to be an everyday labourer for God in her community.
Please join us in prayer as we pray for the work God is doing through ordinary people in the workplace and in their communities. Pray for boldness in taking initiative. Ask for open doors into conversations and opportunities for relationships to deepen. Plead with God that He would do a mighty work to bring many to faith through everyday labourers amongst the nations.