“Lord, let your will be done.” We’ve all prayed this many times, but have we thought of what we’d do if God’s will is different from our will for our life? Most of us would are not prepared for this! Meyu Changkiri was also not prepared even though he had been raised by parents who had a certain plan in mind for him.
Even before Meyu was born, his parents prayed long and hard for his life to be dedicated to full time ministry. All through his childhood, Meyu was reminded of this path. He would respond to them saying that becoming a pastor was not the only way to serve God, and he actually wanted to become an officer. “Even then my parents didn’t give up. They silently continued to pray for me.”
Three of his nine siblings got jobs in Kohima while Meyu was completing his college degree. He dreamt of becoming an officer to earn a lot of money to give his parents a comfortable life. “I had seen them struggle and make many sacrifices for the ten of us.” TO make his dream come true, he decided to join the Defence Force after college. While trying to convince his parents, which was certainly not an easy conversation, the chairman of the mission school in his village in Nagaland dropped by. He offered Meyu a job as a teacher in the school. “I was stuck in between so I had to say yes to his offer,” Meyu recalls.
‘Why did this have to happen to me?’ ‘Was it right for my parents to decide my future?’ These were some of the many questions looming in Meyu’s mind as he continued to teach at the mission school. Meyu was blessed with opportunities to teach and interact with the children and youth. As he continued on with life at the mission school, he began to notice how all the little activities were bringing joy to him. Not just the joy of life, but the joy of serving as well!
Meyu realised how blinded he was with the fact that it didn’t go the way he had wished, and how ungrateful he had been. He fell to his knees and asked God for forgiveness. This realisation helped him change his life around, and he prepared to get into full time ministry and theological studies. After his studies he worked in Dimapur and Guwahati where he was invited by the Ao Baptist Church in Shillong. He has been leading this church now for fifteen years!
In retrospect, he is grateful for his parents’ wise decision and their gentle persuasion. “God not only answered their prayer, but my prayer as well,” says Meyu, thankful for the opportunities God has given him and well as for enabling him to take care of his parents. Although it took thirty long years for his parents’ prayers being answered, he is immensely grateful that they lived on to see God fulfilling their desires.
“I want to encourage all of you not to give up. Even before we express our needs to God, he knows them, He understands them. God honours your prayers and He will answer your prayers in His best season.”
Pastor Meyu Changkiri has contributed to many lives, including through CBN India’s Gospel Presentations.
