“But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God” (Psalm 146:5, NLT).

On my first day of service with CMDA in 2016, I attended the annual Healthcare Missions Leadership Summit hosted by CMDA and MedSend with CMDA CEO Emeritus Dr. David Stevens in Charlotte, North Carolina. We were welcomed by Dr. Joshua Bogunjoko, the International Director of Sudan Interior Mission (SIM), who challenged attendees to carefully monitor their joy levels in ministry. Dr. Bogunjoko gave his life to Christ under the influence of American medical missionaries in Nigeria but a few of those cross-cultural servants confused and frustrated him in the process. They seemed bitter and joyless as they served Christ in Africa, almost as if they were serving out a God-given life sentence for sins of their past. Joshua felt these missionaries were significant detractors from an otherwise powerful, gospel-centered ministry that impacted his life. With that admonition in mind, I was quite pleased that our CMDA senior leadership team chose “expressing joy” as one of our five national ministry staff internal core values for 2020 and beyond. There have been numerous attacks on our joy since then, not the least of which has been the COVID pandemic’s impact upon our efforts to send Global Health Outreach (GHO) and Medical Education International (MEI) teams, to host regional/national meetings, to promote campus and community gatherings of healthcare professionals, etc.

Two experiences in late 2022 reminded me of the power of joy expressed in our lives. One was an interview with Dr. Scott Armistead, a family physician and CMDA campus advisor from Richmond, Virginia, who joined me on CMDA Matters, our weekly ministry podcast. After serving 16 years as a missionary in the Middle East, he accepted a staff teaching position at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in 2016, the medical school in Richmond. In 2020 he was disciplined by his medical school administration for a discussion with a group of students about embodiment and the implications for their patients at VCU. Scott told them, “It is dehumanizing to our patients when we denigrate the body. We can’t let it happen. Truth is important for our patients.” Apparently one student in the group had a problem with Scott’s teaching which led to his subsequent disciplinary action. After spending six months on probation, and following the school’s prescribed focused learning experience, Scott’s contract was not renewed, and he was out looking for a job. Through it all, Scott has not lost his peace and has remained confident that God is in control. What is his secret? He said:

“To follow Jesus is going to be difficult! How do we navigate adversity in healthcare in the U.S.? As we think deeply about Christian joy, joy-strength will sustain us. God looks at us and delights in us and tells us that we belong to Him and that should bring joy for the believer.”

The other experience of joy impact involved my first CMDA tour of the Holy Land in November 2022, which Pam and I had the privilege to host, touring with 43 CMDA members and spouses. Our bus driver, Sharif, was Arab and Muslim and very accommodating throughout our nine days with him. We had the opportunity each day on the bus to hear from God’s Word and to sing numerous hymns and songs as a group together. We were a great CMDA choir! (I strongly recommend an experience on a CMDA biblical tour for all our members as the fellowship and the guides in Israel, Greece, Turkey and Italy are outstanding.) About a week into our tour, I noticed a new sign in the front window of our bus, right next to the sign with “CMDA group” displayed. The new paper had been printed by Sharif and read “JOY.” I believe our singing and our sweet Christian fellowship had made an impression upon this Arab bus driver—we were a bus full of joy! Our guide, Jeremy, asked me to make a request of the touring company that Sharif continue to drive for future CMDA groups. Jeremy shared with me privately that he sees a wide-open door for ministry and some “good soil” in this bus driver’s heart.

A final note about joy, the second fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5—it sometimes defies human understanding. “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (Acts 5:41). My prayer for you as a CMDA member is that joy-strength from God’s Spirit will sustain you throughout 2023, especially when you face inevitable adversity coming from a roaring lion whose time is limited.