It was great tonight during our Gospel meeting to see a preacher who has been a friend to our family for many years. Brother Joe was a friend of our Dad a long time ago. He moved to this state to preach about fifty years ago. He told me tonight that he is about to turn ninety. He continues to preach when needed, and he will soon return to Ghana, where he has been many times.
He is in good health, and his mind is sharp. He is a fantastic man of God and a tremendous example to so many of us. My guess is that Brother Joe has endured many of the same problems that all of us preachers deal with from time to time. There were probably times that he felt unappreciated, underpaid, and unloved. I feel certain that he had disagreements with his elders, and there were probably times they didn’t treat him well.
I’m sure Brother Joe “got told” by members more than once that he got sick and that his wife and children were not always treated the way they should have been. I feel sure there were times he was unsure about his work and probably questioned his effectiveness. He was probably mistreated by fellow preachers and church members where he preached.
Yet, here he is at ninety, still going strong. He may have thought about it at some point, but the fact is, he never quit. He never threw in the towel. He never mailed it in. Sometimes, it was probably not easy for Brother Joe, but he kept going.
Thank you so much, Brother Joe, and many others like you who have endured the most difficult of days and kept preaching. My prayer is that someone who is struggling right now will read this and be encouraged to keep going. We love you all.
