I’m learning to zoom out and view the bigger picture.
Madison, Cody, and I are officially trained Squad Leaders! To get rest from training all of last month and leading our first all squad debrief; we got the chance to spend two days in Cape Town. It was beautiful and full of a ton of surprise encounters that I may never forget. Particularly one with a man named Murphy.
The three of us were walking to the waterfront when Madison notice a man crawl out of a sewer on the sidewalk across the street. He was tall and very thin, wore tattered clothes, and ironically carried a hot coffee in hand. She immediately said she wanted to meet him so we yelled and motioned for him to come to us. His face lit up as though we were the first people to acknowledge him in a long time. Without thinking twice he made his way across the busy street, literally dodging traffic.
We then went on to talk for what felt like hours. We listened to his story, his fears, his setbacks, his views on God. As we spoke, I began to feel this overwhelming sensation in my chest. It was like I could feel my heart burn with a passion that God wanted me to communicate to him. I silently said a prayer and asked God if there was anything specific I should say. Immediately a thought came to mind, “Tell him he’s my son, and I love him.” As simple as that. When a natural pause came in our conversation, I relayed the message.
I really wish I could have recorded the look on his face. It was as though the burning feeling in my heart leaped and filled his entire body. He dropped his head, smirked, and giggled a bit—his eyes watery. It was like the first time a teenage girl hears the words “I love you” over a late night phone call. It was beautiful.
He had a lot of confusion over what he truly believed, but something changed when he heard those words. He began repeating the things that we were telling him, as though he was starting to agree and find a new confidence in his faith. He proclaimed that he believes in Jesus and that he’s going to begin praying more and sharing His love with the others around him. As we were talking, another homeless man walked up and Cody stepped aside to talk to him. The man told Cody that he has seen Murphy around but didn’t know him well. Simultaneously, Murphy was telling me and Madison that he wanted to start building relationships and sharing Jesus with the people around him.
And he meant it. As we finally finished our discussion, we watched Murphy walk away with a huge smile on his face. We literally saw him walk down the street and begin talking to the man that Cody met. The Holy Spirit instantly activated and gave him zeal. Right before our eyes.
The conversation we had with Murphy was loaded. He expressed issues he’s been dealing with like anger, fear, joblessness, and isolation. He spoke of the witchcraft, demonic spirits, and violence that are in full affect all around him. He has one friend in the sewer and they help take care of each other. But naturally, life for him is difficult and dangerous living on the streets. Speaking with him really gave me new perspective on what it looks like to zoom out of my personal circumstances and recognize what God is doing on a bigger scale.
There’s a story in Matthew 11 where John the Baptist sends Jesus a message from prison. He basically questions if Jesus was who He said He was or if there was someone else coming that could save him. It was as though he was questioning if Jesus even cared that his own cousin was in prison suffering. John likely thought he was justified in questioning Jesus’s motives being as though they likely grew up together and he knew what Jesus came to earth for; yet He seemed to be preoccupied and not attending to John’s issues.
Jesus’s response to the inquiry was pretty cut throat, “…Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” (Matt 11:4-6)
Basically Jesus is telling John to zoom out and see the bigger picture of what He came for. Sometimes it’s easy to get so fixated on our personal circumstance, suffering, or agenda that we easily overlook the people in front of us who are living in darkness and are in desperate need of light. Jesus was going around and literally healing the blind, curing lame legs, opening deaf ears, and RAISING PEOPLE FROM THE DEAD. Not only that, but He was giving people like Murphy the time of day when no one else would. He was busy telling Murphy that he is loved, that life and suffering on this earth are temporary, that there is an inheritance of eternity in heaven waiting for him, and that he is not forgotten. Yet John still questioned Jesus’s motives because he was fixated on his personal suffering.
The reality is that God truly does care about our problems and is willing to fight with us. However, he also promises that there will be suffering on this earth but we are to take up our cross and follow Him anyway. Jesus taught us that no matter what our agenda is, no matter how hard our lives are, we should always be interruptible for the sake of His Kingdom being known on earth.
I know in my life, I often start to focus on my own needs and desires so much that I can easily miss the assignment right in front of me. I didn’t even notice Murphy come out of the sewer, but I am so grateful that Madison did. Our agenda was to make it to the waterfront, but Murphy taught me a super valuable lesson. He taught me to zoom out and see the bigger, better story that God is writing.
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To you Murphy, I love you and I’m happy to now call you friend.
Here’s an email Murphy sent the next day! God is moving, keep him in your prayers!!
Much love!
Thanks for following along
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