So, Africa was a reality check. A giant slap in the face from God. But man, was it necessary.
After arriving in Manzini, for the last six weeks of our time in Africa, I read the book of Exodus. Everyone knows the story Exodus tells but it hit me hard actually reading it. To recap, the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt and God did a bunch of crazy miracles and saved them from slavery. Something that didn’t sit right with me was the fact that the text says over and over again that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so the Israelites wouldn’t be set free just yet. I had a hard time picturing the God that I know- The God who loves me without fail- would purposely set Pharaoh up to look like the bad guy. Too bad it took me the remainder of the six weeks to really understand why.
Manzini was hard for me. We didn’t have a lot of scheduled ministry (maybe 2 hours) and so the rest of the time we were supposed to do ATL (Ask The Lord) ministry. I didn’t like that. I struggled to stay positive in what the Lord was doing through me because I didn’t think He was doing anything. He had done big things through our squad and myself and I wanted God to do big things through us in Manzini like He did in the Philippines.
However, our God is a God who works in the details. Isn’t that one of my favorite things about God’s character- how He knows even the number of hairs on our heads? So, why was I being arrogant enough to think that God was ONLY using me for the big things?
If God wants to use me to do big things, bring it on. But God can use me for something small too and how dare I question the purpose and effectiveness of what The Lord was doing through me. It’s not my job to see the big picture but rather, to realize that there is so much more going on that I can’t see. I have a small part in something so much bigger than I even realize.
And what may seem small to me may seem like everything to the people who benefit from the care-point where we planted 2000 lettuce seedlings or to Mlungisi, a man I met on the streets whom I had the privilege of praying for.
It’s all for His glory. Everything.
And that’s why The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart- so He could perform miraculous signs and that the Israelites would know for thousands of generations that He is the Lord and He took them out of slavery.
It wasn’t about Pharaoh but about the millions of people who have heard that story and saw God’s greatness. And it’s not about me. It’s not about you. It’s doing what the Lord has called us to do because He called us to do it.
So it doesn’t matter the magnitude of what The Lord is doing through me because it’s all for Him anyway. He knows the whole story and is faithful to us in that. And it’s up to us to be faithful with the ministry The Lord has entrusted us with, no matter how small it may seem.
