“I can’t even hear myself think.”
This is a sentence that I have thought many times this month. Nearly every moment of every day is filled with sounds of motorbikes, hammering, dogs barking, music blaring from a home down the street, and sometimes, 38 people talking. To say that this month has been filled with distractions would be an understatement at the least. This is especially jarring after coming from ministry in Lesotho where we were surrounded by beautiful mountains, villagers riding on horseback, and only the songs of birds as our background music.
My favorite part of Lesotho was the peace and quiet and ample time we had to sit and listen to God. Here in Bulacan, peace and quiet is not something that can be easily found in a landscape of stark walls, mismatched buildings, and busy people. However, something God definitely gave us this month was ample time. Many of us realized, unfortunately, that we let the distractions around us get in the way of using more of our personal time with God as we had last month. Our choices of entertainment for free time in Lesotho were limited to what we could come up with to busy ourselves, much like the many summer days at my Grammy’s house where we were told to play outside and not come in until dinner. This month we had all the choices we could want: going to the capital city, talking with family at the internet cafe, hitting the mall, catching a movie, enjoying the food and AC at 7-Eleven, playing basketball with the locals, and exploring the quirks of this foreign town.
While plentiful options for entertainment can be a blessing, they can also be a curse when we allow them to become distractions from our true purpose.
Even with our minds being pulled in many directions this month, God reminded us that he is all powerful by shining through and putting us in positions where there was no way we could even try to take the glory for ourselves. Most days, the plan for ministry was changed up to the last moment, so preparation was near impossible and we had to rely on God to give us every word as we spoke in classrooms and services.
The constant change in schedule and sensory overload this month reminded me of when we were back in Durban, South Africa and I sat on the beach and watched as Matt and three of our friends attempted to surf amidst the relentless crashing of waves. Over and over, one of the guys would get their feet under them on the board and begin to proudly stand up straight, only to hit an unexpected wave and fall face first into the water. More of their time was spent underwater, swirling around and trying to get their footing, then coming up for air and getting whacked in the head by their board, rather than actually looking cool like they had imagined, surfing along peacefully as their hair and beards whipped in the wind.
This month, we thought we could be the cool, new American missionaries, riding into town, looking like we knew what we were doing. But really, more of our time was spent underwater, swirling around and trying to get our footing. This time though, God kept picking us up, putting us on the board, and making us shine in his own timing.
Satan tried his best all month to mess things up in our ministry and dim that light, but he really put on a show on the night of our show. All month we had planned and practiced for the multicultural festival where we partnered with the youth at our host church to perform cultural dances, skits, and share the gospel to the public in the plaza at the center of town. The dances, testimonies, and skits went wonderfully and drew in a crowd of about 150+ people! As I prayed throughout the event, I kept thanking God that things were going smoothly.
Then came the gospel presentation and time for response. As our squad mate, Stephen, told about God’s forgiveness, the catholic church across the street was having a party including lights and music. I prayed that distraction would stop. Then, in the gazebo where I was sitting (next to the stage), a group of boys started quietly breakdancing. “God please take away this distraction.”
The catholic party stopped just in time for fireworks to start going off in the street next to us as people were being encouraged to come to the front if they wanted to pray and have a relationship with God. At this point I’m saying, out loud, “Satan stop trying to distract all these people! God PLEASE take away these distractions.”
There was peace for a moment and I let out a sigh of relief. Distractions continued while people were being led in prayer and I notice that a holy week parade was starting in the street around the plaza.
I burst out laughing as I could physically see and hear the spiritual battle take place around me while I listened to both a band playing behind the parade and at least 15 people praying to receive Christ at the same time.
Satan loves to distract us, but the night of the festival, God answered my prayer by saying “No” to stopping the distractions just so that he could show that his power can wholly overwhelm us, and Satan loses when we focus on the works of the Father instead of everything else around us. The games that Satan tries to play with us are laughable when we are focused solely on God and seeing Him work.
So next time your life seems to be crazy and you feel like Satan is doing all he can to get to you, just laugh and keep your eyes on God. Remember that we are only human, but when we watch Him, we will see God work in mysterious and wonderful ways, no matter what other things may be going on around you.
Keep your eyes on Jesus, not on the waves.
