George, a young man in Greece, was planning to attend Bible college when the scholarship he was counting on was inexplicably cancelled. Frustrated and disappointed because of the closed door, he enlisted in the army to fulfill his nation’s required military service. George eventually completed a law degree with distinction.
After graduation, George found himself in the midst of a hotbed of religious persecution against the evangelical church in his country. Pursuing his convictions, he took on a series of assignments on behalf of Evangelical Christianity. He was arrested over 30 times for his religious activities.
When the Athens 3 Trial made global news, George became a part of the legal team in the center of this religious controversy. Believers around the world gave so much attention to the situation that the authorities asked George to tell everyone to quit sending letters. The missionaries were eventually acquitted.
Today, George does not practice law, but he still preaches, mostly in the church he established in Athens—currently the largest evangelical church in Greece with over 1,000 in weekly attendance. He has given birth to 18 congregations in Greece, and his own church translates the Sunday messages into eight languages for the people groups that God has attracted there!
George’s experience reminds us that instead of looking back, we should look forward to the possibilities that God may have for us. Jesus said, “See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it” (Revelation 3:8 NKJV).[i] Perhaps today God will open a special opportunity for you. Keep watching.
[i] Glenn Burris Jr., Foursquare Church Weekly Email Prayer Guide, May 11, 2009, accessed May 11, 2009.
