At the beginning of our first week here I was very discouraged seeing there was a language barrier between me and the locals.
I so desperately wanted to speak
Spanish and I so desperately
wanted them to speak English.
I sat in discouragement for an evening and was asking (or if I’m honest, more like pleading) God to start me out easy. Here’s how our conversation went….,”Please send me ONE local to speak even a little English to me so this task isn’t so daunting.”
I went to bed and decided to fully surrender (I am getting really acquainted with this fully surrendering thing). I surrendered my thoughts and discouragement. I surrendered any doubts and past failures. While sitting at a coffee shop the following morning, a local woman approached me and began speaking in Spanish. I felt a little twinge of discouragement start creeping over my thoughts but I rebuked that thought immediately. Eventually I decided to tell this sweet woman I can speak Spanish about as well as I can stand up on two feet on a moving board across rolling waves(aka surfing). To my surprise she replied, “Oh, okay I’ll speak English then!” WHAT?!?! All I could think about is Jehovah Jireh (Our Provider). God showed up as He always does. It’s in His timing and not our own. I left it in His court and believed He would encourage me when I got discouraged.
I set the expectation that God would
show up and even though
I was discouraged at times,
I kept putting my trust in Him.
Well that little tap on the butt spurred my BOLDness into full steam ahead. The next morning I was soaking up scripture on the beach and a local came and sat in my vicinity. Without a doubt I started talking to him…and he talked to me….and I responded. I was speaking English, and he was speaking Spanish. Sounds like a confusing disaster, huh? It wasn’t surprisingly! After a few minutes, I pulled out my trendy Google translate app and what could have been a confusing disaster, was a relationship established and another person heard about Jesus.
Here’s the thing about God…how are we to appreciate Him fully when He provides in BIG ways if we are oblivious to all the LITTLE ways He provides?? It’s in our human nature to want to know stories about people coming to Christ and hearing about miraculous healings and prophetic messages. I know I want to hear about them! And those stories SHOULD be told and SHOULD impact people because they are amazing. But here’s the actual thing…I’m about to drop a truth bomb so buckle up partner…
God is just as big in those situations we deem as “small” such as,
God sending an English speaking El Salvadorian when compared
to Him healing a cripple or opening someone’s heart to Christ.
Let’s let God be BIG in every situation
