So I have to be honest.
I did not even know WHO Nipsey Hussle was until I saw pictures floating around of him and Lauren London a couple of weeks ago from their photo shoot that surfaced on Instagram! Actually, I did not know that the man in the picture was actually, Nipsy Hussle until I heard that he died and that same picture resurfaced on my Instagram! Man, they are such a fly and beautiful couple!!
It is interesting that you really don’t know the impact of a person until they leave this earth. Until the Lord calls them home. Since I am in Thailand and I am about 11/12 hours ahead of America, I found out that Nipsy Hussle was killed way before my family and friends woke up to the news that morning. So, I did not know his impact, until I laid down to sleep and then woke up. WOW! What a GUY!
WHAT A IMPACT!
WHAT A LIFE LIVED!
So this month is ALL SQUAD and ATL Month. This is a very difficult month for me because it breaks me even further out of my comfort zone. READ my last article about what ATL month is. (click here)! So naturally, this is a month full of lessons both conventional and unconventional.
One thing the Lord is doing this month is redefining ministry for me; teaching me that Ministry looks different than what/how I was taught, how I was raised, and what has been exposed. That being a missionary, looks differently than what I might have experienced the month or the year(s) before. That ministry will look differently month to month, day to day, minute to minute.
Bible Story Time:::
When the Israelites were on their journey to the Promised Land. The Lord told Moses ( their leader) ” I will rain down manna ( bread) down from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day ( morning) and gather enough for THAT day. ( Exodus 16:4) ” NO one is to keep any of it until morning” ( Exodus 16:19)! However some of them paid no attention and kept part of it until morning, and it was full of maggots and began to smell. ( Exodus 16:20)
Did yall catch that? The Lord told Moses to tell the Israelites ( as they complained) that he was going to provide Manna ( bread) for them each day, that he was going to sustain them, but they did not listen. They took it into their own hands and stored up enough for the next day. To their surprise, it wasn’t any good for the next day.
Lets put this in modern-day terminology! Naturally, I hate going to the grocery store. SO when I am there, I am probably going to get everything that I need for the week or the next couple of days, so that I won’t have to go back! I, like the Israelites, would have gathered all of the items from the grocery store so that I wouldn’t have to go back! ….Self Sustaining.
My groceries would have rotted and I would have been upset.
Why did the Lord tell the Israelites NOT to keep anything and just to grab for the day?
I feel like that Lord told this to the Israelites to yes, test their hearts, but because the Lord wanted to give them something NEW, fresh MANNA ( bread, FRESH GROCERIES) FRESH MINISTRY to them DAILY! HE wanted to teach them how to fully depend on HIM DAILY!!!! Not just ONCE a week! Daily we are to trust the Lord and put him in the place of our sovereign sustainer. Ya see, just like the Israelites, I carried ministry from month 1 into month 4. Words that he spoke to me in month 1 into month 4, not asking and allowing God to do a new thing, a fresh thing….a different thing.
So he said, Meyuna I am going to redefine ministry to you.
Well… what does this have to do with one of the lessons that I learned from Nipsey HUssle? Well, everything and nothing! HA! Stay with me…. Since the Lord is redefining ministry for me, comes redefining how I do relationships especially within ministry. Through Nipsey Hussle, God showed me how to do relationships! Within ministry comes building a lot of relationships. Of course, one goal as a missionary is to love and to serve people and bring them into the knowledge of Jesus. Jesus teaches us through the GREAT COMMISSION, to go out and ‘ MAKE DISCIPLES”. Through making disciples comes relationship building. I think I can be so eager to build certain relationships or to share Jesus, that I can go about it in a way that becomes “possessive” and controlling. Yes, I want to be influential but these people aren’t MINE! Ultimately, they are the Lords. God created them. I am just the vessel. My job is to ” experience” them. I can admit, I wanted so bad to make sure that they ( people) knew Jesus or made sure that they knew I knew Jesus, I was taking control of them and forcing them in knowing Jesus, by saying and doing anything. Which wasn’t authentic or genuine. Which isn’t my job. My job like NH said is to “experience” people. To learn from them, to participate in things that they like to do within their culture, to observe them in their ways, actions, speech, encounters, to KNOW them. That’s what Jesus does for us. We are fully KNOWN by our father and that’s what he wants us to do with other people, to KNOW them. to EXPERIENCE them. not to just force anything upon them, not to control them with our words and force them into something! But to genuinely love and get to know them. to PURSUE them!!
THIS IS MINISTRY!!!!!
Jesus “experienced people”. He walked with them. Went to their homes. Ate with them.
Through “experience”, you get to genuinely know people and through knowing people, comes influence and the overflow of Jesus in my life. Jesus does the rest.
“You can’t possess people, you experience them.” – Nipsey Hussle
When I read that this is something that he told Lauren London ( God bless her) I SCREAMED!!!!! Nipsy was preaching!! ya hear!!!!
Thanks Brother Nipsey. May you rest in peace and may your family and friends be comforted during this time. You’re a real one! Thank you that your life speaks volumes even when you’re not physically here. That’s a life well lived.
Lets pray for his family and friends tonight!!
Friends, are you pursuing people or possessing people? I challenge you to experience someone today! Step into something that they love. That is ministry! You will find out that you will learn way more than you ever imagined!!!
Love,
Meyuna
