I have been asking the Lord to show me hope in this place. I knew I couldn’t continue to function under the weight of hopelessness. David’s words in Psalm 13 became my heart’s cry:
This may sound really dramatic, but I knew it was a matter of life or death for my heart. I needed God to give light to my eyes and answer my cries to see His hope in Swazi. I just couldn’t continue in this state of hopelessness.
I sat in the church listening to the mournful cries of the Swazi mothers during prayer. My heart was breaking for them and I began to cry out on their behalf. Lord come and sit in the dirt with these people. Sit with them in the midst of their pain and heartache.
Immediately I hear the Lord respond: “Lisa, I Am. There is nowhere else I would rather be than with my children.”
Then I began to pray for specific people, for the Lord to come and comfort Dudu, to protect Mkhululi, to strengthen Thabsile. In each situation I hear His voice saying again “I Am.”
Then my prayers began to change. Lord, I thank You that You are here. That You are in the midst of their heartache. Open their eyes that they may see You. He speaks again and tells me “I will open their eyes, but you can teach them to see Me in each situation.”
This is the first real hope that I have grasped unto here in Swaziland. The God of all Creation, the great I Am is here holding the hands of these precious people and walking with them through their pain. I may not be able to change their situations, but I can help them to see God in each situation.
