WHATEVER HE WANTS FOR ME

Author: Beth Jessup

Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

​I have been thinking lately about a surrendered life. If we are going to have a successful life we must be surrendered to what God has for us. While I was in high school, God really worked in my heart about giving my life to Him. I have always had a tender heart and knew when God was dealing with me. Romans 12:1 and 2 say, “I BESEECH you therefore, brethren by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” I remember God using these verses to turn around my steps as a teen to want to know God’s will for my life. Since that amazing event in my life, God has brought me on a journey that only He could have orchestrated!

I remember as a twenty-two-year-old newlywed leaving my parents and family as I followed God’s will. That was terribly hard to do! I was so glad that God had called us to Canada which was not so far away. I saw some of my friends go too far away lands to serve the Lord. We did not have Skype, Facebook, iMessage or FaceTime to stay in touch with our family; we had to write letters or make long distance phone calls. I have to say that even though we had to leave family behind God gave us a peace.

We left our furniture and most of our belongings behind in storage. We were not sure exactly where God was going to lead us, and I realized I had to give God my earthly treasures (the furniture) to the Lord. I was willing to do without, but God wanted us to stay at the camp and learn from the missionary. We lived there for four years, and God allowed us to get our furniture. God taught me a lesson about surrender. I believe God wants to give us “things” and show us His love in a tangible way.

Another area we gave to the Lord was our health. In our first four years on the mission field, we had two babies born and a miscarriage. We had no family nearby, but God gave us this missionary couple, the Colfields, to teach us things about training our children. After four years and a yearlong furlough, we moved to a mining town 170 miles north of the camp. We moved on January 13 and it was thirty below zero!

After we were there for a year or so, I had another miscarriage which was very bad. I was flown to a hospital many hundreds of miles away for attention because we did not have a doctor in Pickle Lake. I had hemorrhaged so badly that I had to decide if I would take a blood transfusion. I decided not to have the transfusion but stayed for several days to build up my blood count. My husband had to leave me in Thunder Bay and go back home that night on the plane that brought me to the hospital. I believe that God showed His protection for me. Could this possibly be because of a surrendered life?? After five years, we turned the work over to a Canadian pastor, and God moved us to Fort Frances, Ontario, for four years. My husband had a severe problem with his back, so we had to leave another missionary there to finish that work. We needed to take a break from the work and get some medical help for his back problem.

After recovering, a church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, contacted him about coming to pastor the church. While there, seven other churches were planted through that ministry. We were so comfortable and so happy there, but God had other sacrifices for me. Yes, again I had to surrender, and I did. We sold our home and put all the equity into BCPM to get the ministry started. So much more has happened through the years that we had to trust God with, but He has always sustained us each time He had something new for us to do. God has certainly blessed our lives in so many ways. Our surrender to His perfect will has paid off with churches planted and every personal need met. Since we started the Baptist Church Planting Ministry, there have been over 150 churches reproduced. Through the years, God has taught me many lessons on surrender, and He has given more to me than I could imagine.

Does it pay to surrender it all to the Lord for His perfect will for your life? Everyone should ask themselves this question. And the answer is a resounding, “Yes!” It will bless you more than you could ever imagine. Let go of whatever it is keeping you from being surrendered and let God bless your life!