One important lesson I have learned on the World Race is that God loves surprises! He loves to put a little extra something into the ordinary and set divine appointments for us. Many times, I lack seeing this because I’m stuck with black and white vision when Jesus is calling me to see the rainbows.
Let me be honest with you- ministry on the race isn’t always exciting. Sometimes you get to love on sweet little orphans and sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you feel like a light in the darkness and sometimes you feel like a wet match. Sometimes you feel like you make a difference and sometimes you feel like it wouldn’t make a difference if you were there or not. Sometimes ministry is just like any other black and white ordinary day.
During my month in South Africa, part of our ministry was working at an animal shelter and walking dogs. Truth be told, I didn’t want to walk dogs for ministry. I felt like I could do that at home and wondered why God would bring me all the way around the globe to walk some dogs. It seemed like an ordinary day-to-day task and I wasn’t too pumped to do it. I even questioned how God could use me by walking dogs. I was lacking in the faith department.
But a few days into dog walking, God showed me what He had planned for this ministry all along. What started out as an ordinary day became and extraordinary Jesus encounter.
One morning a worker from the shelter decided to walk the dogs with us. As we were walking and talking, I felt like God was telling me to pray for him. Reluctantly, I listened, stepped out in faith and asked the man if I could pray for him. He looked shocked and tears began to feel his eyes. He began to tell me about problems he was having within his family. His son was special needs and they had been trying for months to get him into a school program. They had been turned down by every program and had one last option. It just so happened that the last option was the best option to cater to his son’s needs. The problem was that the family was struggling financially and might not even be able to afford the school or the transportation to get there.
We circled around to pray and lift this man’s requests to the Lord. Afterwards, our new friend began to tell us that he had been praying that God would send people to encourage him, pray for him, and give him hope. He said we had just answered that prayer and he knew God would answer the others.
God used my teammates and I to lift up a fellow brother who felt like he couldn’t make it on his own. We were able to take the hope we have in Jesus and share it. God took what could have been an ordinary day and put a little something extra into it. He showed up when I didn’t expect Him to and taught me that He can always use me. All it takes is a little faith and openness to experience what God has for us. Jesus can take any ordinary day and make it extraordinary.
Where is God calling you to step out in faith today? What EXTRA does God want to put into your ORDINARY?
