Author: David Liddle

I grew up in Media, Pennsylvania, close to Philadelphia. I graduated from The Citadel in 1994. In 1995, I joined Wycliffe Bible Translators and have served in Africa, the United States, and Germany. Katherine and I were married in November 1998.

Water from a Rock

One Sunday a few weeks ago, we read Exodus 17 in worship. The Israelites are fairly fresh from leaving Egypt and have seen more spectacular miracles than the average person might expect to see in the span of a few months. Now they’re in the wilderness and have a real need for water. But despite seeing God provide for them in amazing ways, when it seemed that all was lost, they report their need to Moses in something along the lines of a class-action lawsuit.

Moses, worried that he’s about to be lynched, runs to God for help. He’s pretty agitated. Yet God gives him a calm, gracious answer: Go hit that rock with a stick. Moses obeys, and God provides water for all those people. From a rock.

So God met the need of His people, even though they brought it to Him as a complaint? Wow. That’s some God!

Later, Jesus said, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” (Matthew 6:31-32)  He also said, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11) I don’t think I’m drawing a bad conclusion from the Bible when I write that God loves taking care of His people.

The Israelites experience in the desert made me think about our own move and our own needs.

In our April newsletter, I mentioned that we need an additional $2,000 in support each month to have an adequate living in Germany. We also have to sell the house. And we’d like for the boys to start school in Germany this August. That’s a lot of water. With the U.S. economy and housing market as they are, it seems that God is leading us to a big rock and saying, “Don’t worry! I’ve done this before.”

Yes, He has done it before. Katherine and I began serving Wycliffe at different times, and we each had to find all of our financial support before going to Africa. Lo and behold, God provided it! He did it then, and we fully expect Him to do it again now.

Here’s the fun part. You know how He does it? Through our brothers and sisters in Christ! After all, we missionaries would look pretty silly if we had to walk around with corporate logos all over us, like NASCAR drivers. So if you’re a child of God, it’s just possible that He’ll stir you to give to our ministry. Just like He stirred us to go in the first place.

One doesn’t have to be a “big giver” to make a difference. It would be pretty easy for 200 people to meet our present need, don’t you think? God just wants people who are eager to give. If you’re one of those people, or you know a fellow believer who is, then here’s the place to go: http://www.wycliffe.org/Partnership.aspx?mid=ECCA8C.

We’re all standing before an imposing rock as God calls us to reach this world with His message. Just read what Wycliffe USA’s leader, Bob Creson, recently said to Mission Network News about the size of the task. The rock’s big, but our God is ready to let loose streams of water if we’ll all obey Him!

Newsletter, April 2010

With all that’s been going on with home renovations, it’s been hard to pull away and write a bit. In the last newsletter I wrote (in December), our email project was about 50% complete. Now, a part of me can rest, since that project is 100% finished. Done! And so far, I haven’t seen much residual work.

So now the big push is to finish the sorting and selling and packing and fixing-up and planning and … you get the idea. Perhaps you’ve been through it yourself. In the newsletter, I describe what we’ve been up to and what lies ahead. In just a few weeks, we’re going to make our first major moving trip, and there’s a lot to do in the meantime.

Please enjoy the newsletter. You will notice that it mentions how much more support we need for our assignment in Germany. You may not be aware that all Wycliffe missionaries raise their own support. We’ll need to get the full amount before we can leave. And that, my friends, is part of what faith is for.

April 2010: A Liddle Good News (for reading on-screen)

April 2010: A Liddle Good News (for printing)

Tear it down, pull it up, sell it

“… let us throw off everything that hinders ….” (Hebrews 12:1)

When I look around our house, especially in its present state – Katherine would be furious if I put up pictures – it becomes all too clear that we have a lot in our life here that hinders us. Old things, books, toys, clothing, furniture, paperwork, the house itself – it all weighs us down. And the process of getting rid of it all, in one fashion or another, is pretty painful. It’s so easy to say, “It’s too much. I just can’t do it.”

There’s a lot that we’re trying to do simultaneously: sell or give away unneeded items, renovate parts of the house, set aside things to put in storage, and prepare for life in Germany. Oh, and while all that’s going on, there’s the daily grind of household and office. “Hey, welcome to real life.”

But is that the way the Liddles are supposed to live? “… let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” I’m not aiming to get preachy – it’s just that the message from God is the only instruction I can truly rely on, especially when struggles in life seem insurmountable. Katherine and I are convinced that God has marked out a race for us. Now He’s watching to see if we’ll run … or if we’ll hide.

Please pray for us to have this perseverance as we literally wade through everything that we’ve accumulated in our time in the U.S. Oh, how the enemy tries to take hold of us through our stuff! Jesus said, “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” Unfruitful? I do not want to be like that.

Pray for Katherine and me to have patience with one another as we persevere through this season of stress. A big move will always put stress on a marriage We want to demonstrate to each other, to our sons, to our families, and to anyone else who’s watching (even the enemy!) that the power and love of God can overcome all difficulties.

This week I’ll complete the removal of some of the carpet in the house, clearing the way for the new flooring. We’re setting aside a mountain of things to tag and haul off to a Just Between Friends sale next week. And Katherine and I will be sitting down together with our health records, application forms, and a German dictionary so that we can apply for health insurance over there. Gesundheit! Bitte, beten Sie!

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:2-3) BAM!