This month, ministry looked different for my team and I, we were not partnered with an organization or church like we normally would be, instead we had the opportunity to do an “Unsung Heroes” month. This means our ministry was searching for new potential contacts, organizations, and churches for Adventures in Missions to partner with. The hope is that we would make connections with local people in Zimbabwe who are doing incredible things for the kingdom in order to send teams in the future who can come alongside them to serve, encourage, and love on them. It’s a month of a lot of prayer and a lot of dependence on the Lord.
Apart from the Lord moving, creating divine encounters, and providing vision there’s not a whole lot we are capable of on our own in this ministry. Going into the month this is exactly what I was most excited about. I had seen God show up in incredible ways, big and small throughout Malawi and Zambia, I was well aware that God is present in Africa and that He’s at work. I couldn’t wait to sit back and to see how He would orchestrate our time in Zimbabwe.
And did He ever. In our first hours of arriving the Lord provided for us a list of 8 possible contacts for us to reach out to, names, numbers, emails, ministries. I was blown away. I thought to myself ‘well that’s enough to keep us busy all month!’ But God didn’t stop there, not more than a few days later we received another name and number that led us to another name and number. We received ministries and contacts other squad mates of ours encountered and passed on to us. We had a week where we had a meeting everyday, some days we even had two. God was working almost quicker than we could keep up. Beyond praying for the country and for what God specifically wanted to do here, we had done no work to find any of these potential contacts, they had all quite literally fallen into our hands. We had expected that we would have to do some amount of research to find contacts, whether that be searching online, scouting at different churches, or just walking through city to run into people or organization offices. But our expectations were upon ourselves and what we could accomplish in our capabilities.
This month was a refreshing reminder that God doesn’t need us, yet He graciously chooses to use us. So often we get in twisted in our minds that serving God, working to advance the gospel, bringing the kingdom, are OUR responsibilities. We can easily turn ministry (especially when it’s long-term or permanent) into a burden. We can allow ourselves to believe that if we don’t show up to ministry God can’t work or that the gospel won’t spread. But God will show up with or without us. God always shows up. God is always at work. God is God, and we are desperately dependent on Him, He in no way depends on us.
This month was a refreshing reminder that being a servant of the Lord is such a blessing. This rightful perspective is beautifully humbling. And I need it everyday.
When we rest in the finished work of Jesus on the cross, servant hood, living a life of ministry becomes nothing but joy and we can operate from a place of peace. Because ultimately it’s not up to us, but our Father who deeply loves us and is faithful forever.
Breathe out the burden and breathe in the blessing
