Key points
- 1
1God uses painful and unexpected life experiences — including suffering and injustice — to prepare people for ministry and leadership.
A story from life
Pastor Mulenga Chella's full testimony of imprisonment in Tanzania, ministry in prison, and the founding of Christ Life Church in Zambia
- 2
2Surrendering to God's will, even when it is frightening or costly, is the essential first step of obedience.
“Lord, I surrender to your will and your purpose for my life. Even if it means you want me to go to prison, Lord, I surrender”
- 3
3God's Word, read and prayed through daily, sustains, strengthens, and speaks to believers in the darkest circumstances.
- 4
4Loving your enemy — not just in feeling but in costly, practical action — is a direct command of Jesus that opens unexpected doors.
- 5
5Life is an opportunity God gives us to love, serve, and honor Him and others, regardless of our circumstances.
“the Lord started teaching me that life is an opportunity that God gives to us. Life is an opportunity to love, to serve, to honor God and mankind”
“Lord Jesus, I love you. As I continue to care for this man, I'm doing it in obedience to your word. I'm doing it as an expression of my love for you. I love you”
“this man is an innocent man. He doesn't know anything about all my criminal activities. I simply carried him in the vehicle like an ordinary passenger”
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6What God allowed through suffering He redeems for the saving of many lives, just as He did with Joseph.
“what you did against me, you intended it for evil, but god used it for good for the saving of many lives”
“Whatever the lord is calling you to, I want to encourage you to surrender to his will for your life”
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7God calls every person to some form of surrender — receiving Jesus, forgiving an enemy, sharing the gospel, or stepping into a specific calling.
Application
Pastor Mulenga's closing appeal is simply this: surrender. He does not specify what that looks like for every person, because the shape of surrender is different for each life. For some it means receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior for the very first time. For others it means releasing a long-held grievance and choosing — at real personal cost — to forgive and even love an enemy. For still others, surrender means saying yes to a calling that feels too hard or too costly: sharing the gospel, going to another country, starting a church, or stepping into a season of discomfort that God is using to prepare you for something greater. Whatever that 'yes' looks like for you, Mulenga's testimony is the evidence that God meets people who surrender, sustains them through the suffering, and uses their obedience for the saving of many lives.
