Have you ever had one of those moments where you are so overwhelmed with emotion that you just really don’t know what to do with yourself? That was me last night. While gathering in a trash dump under the Guatemalan stars to hand out food and share testimonies with people who are homeless and struggle with alcoholism, I saw Jesus for exactly who He is.
Relentless.
Loving.
Fierce.
Gracious.
Uncontainable.
Incomparable.
Refiner.
Redeemer.
Restorer.
He is everything.
As I stood breathing in the stench of alcohol, dirt, and trash, I heard the leader of the ministry ask for someone out of our group to share a testimony. I was intrigued when I saw Brian Cooke raise his hand. You see, I met Brian while I was in Malawi on my World Race. He wasn’t a believer at the time, but through a million orchestrated details and the relentless pursuance of the Lord, Brian met Jesus that month. I knew that the Lord had drastically changed his life through meeting the World Race teams, but I had never heard him share his testimony in front of people.
With tears streaming down my face, I stood listening to him talk about the grace and the love of Jesus. The Brian Cooke that stood before me almost exactly a year ago was one that struggled with his identity; he was a man that didn’t know much about redemption and had no clue where his future was leading. Now, a confident and loving man of God stands before me.
As I stood looking down at the trash below my feet, the Lord whispered to me: do you see how good I am? Do you hear the story coming from Brian’s lips? Do you see that I truly am a Redeemer for the world? Stop looking at the trash, look up at the stars. I know it hurts to see these people struggling, but I promise I can overcome it. I’m worth it. Look at me.
Later that night, we met for feedback with one of our teams. The team leader, Thomas, asked about what to do when it feels like you aren’t doing much “ministry” during your month. I looked and him and simply said, “sometimes you just don’t get to see how the Lord has used you and it’s hard.”
It was then that I realized how good the Lord has been to bring Brian back across my path. Malawi was a month that I spent a week away from my team; when one of our teams was in a car accident, I left with the squad leaders to organize debrief since the other two logistics leaders were in the accident. I was so tired and questioned what I was even doing there. But, while simply doing life and living in a hostel, I met Brian. While I was busy contemplating if I was doing enough for Jesus, Brian’s story was beginning because our group was simply living a life of love. How incredible is that?
you can read more about Brian here:
braincooke.theworldrace.org
