A few months ago I went to a farmers’ workshop in a rural area of Zimbabwe. I stayed the night in a small room that had the smallest bed I have ever seen. I think it may have been a bed designed for a small child. A very tiny child. As it turned out, I had to share the bed with a coworker. Thankfully he wasn't a large man, but the bed was barely wider than my shoulders so it made for an interesting night. As well, the bed was slanted, so I had to keep myself propped up on my left shoulder so that I wouldn't roll on top of him. As you can imagine, I didn't sleep much that night.

A month later, I attended a training workshop in that same rural area with my wife, Rochelle. We were given the same bed I had shared with my friend previously. When evening came, Rochelle said that she wasn't sure how we would be able to sleep together as the bed was too small for two people. "Trust me," I said. "I'm sure we will manage." An hour into the night, rats began to scavenger around the room, and when one jumped from a window onto the mosquito netting above our heads, my wife seemed much happier that I was there beside her. 

When faced with new challenges or opportunities, it’s easy to find reasons why things won’t work. We quit or back out because we see too many obstacles in our path or because the situation takes us out of our comfort zone. Christians, though, should hold to a faith that makes the impossible possible. Jim Wallis says, “Hope is believing in spite of the evidence, then watching that evidence change.” Or, as the writer of Hebrews tell us, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (11:1).

John McAlister is the editor of Salvationist.ca and the associate editor of Salvationist magazine. He recently returned to Canada from Zimbabwe, where he and his wife, Rochelle, worked for two years with The Salvation Army. John and Rochelle are expecting their first child in November.