“Can you keep going?”
Pastor Chola asked us this question after already trekking at least 6 miles that day. We had met up with two of the deaconesses of Lumpampa Baptist Church, the one that Chola pastors, and they were marching us through the bush of Lumpampa to evangelize in some of the furthest villages.
“Yes, of course!” we replied
Inside, I was screaming “no! please, no more!”
It was a concern that I had when I first signed up to go on the race: these old hips. Even though hip surgery technically repaired the issues that I had over 3 years ago, I still encountered problems more frequently than I wished.
I began giving myself a pep talk. “You can do this. You’ve done worse before. You’ve done more before. Suck it up. Rub some dirt on it and just keep going.”
But as the miles increased, the brief energy from my pep talk decreased. “You’ve really lost it Shelby. Remember what you used to be able to do? Can’t do that anymore can you?”
As my spirits began fading and we continued to walk in the scorching sun, I thought about all the encouragement we had already given to people in the villages that day:
“Your Father in Heaven knows when a single sparrow falls, doesn’t He know where you are too?”
“Jesus is that shepherd and He will always come after the one.”
My Spirit began to shift. “How sweet Your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey.” (Ps. 119:103)
The Scripture we had shared refocused me: Jesus I need You to be my strength. I need You to do this work in me because I can’t do it on my own.
“My grace is sufficient for You, for my power works best in your weakness.” (2 Corin. 12:9)
As we kept walking and I kept praying, we eventually could see Pastor Chola’s car peeking through the trees.
Thank you Jesus.
Friends, we can never provide ourselves with everything we need.
Isaiah 30:1 says, “what sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers and depending on the strength of human armies instead of looking to the Lord, the holy one of Israel.”
When we attempt to provide for ourselves and we don’t look to the Provider, we are forgetting to trust. Now, this doesn’t mean quit your jobs and sit at home and trust that food will be on the table. But it means to trust Him with the in between, to trust Him when it may not make sense, to trust Him through the best and the worst of scenarios, to trust Him with everything.
We can replace the word Egypt with anything we can think of… ourselves, our families, our friends… but if we aren’t looking to Jesus, it will never be enough.
When I got home from ministry that day, I was reading in Ephesians and came across this verse where Paul is praying for spiritual growth for the church of Ephesus.
“I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.” (Ephesians 3:16)
This is my prayer for each of us today.
Until next time,
Shelby
