admin Ok. I am about to make a pretty naïve and somewhat stunning confession. Ready? Early on in my ministry, I used to think that when I traveled abroad I was taking God into the mission field and sharing His love with those I encountered. It didn’t take me long to realize that that concept of ministry was quite flawed. For, you see, in my earliest encounters I discovered quite quickly that there was no need to take God into the mission field; He was already there.
I have seen God at work in so many lives this week and in so many amazing ways. I think about the ride from the Direvager orphanage with the pastor of that community. He pulled over to say hello to a man that spoke no English but approached the car with his hands raised expressing to the pastor that, “God is so good”. Through the translator we learned that he had a motorbike accident and then he hiked up his pant leg (which, for about half a second, got a bit scary for for us watching in the back seat of the car) and showed us a remarkably burned, discolored scar. He was severely injured to the point that his leg was bent permanently and the doctors were talking about amputation. But this was not acceptable for the pastor of Direvager. He simply said, “We must pray for healing immediately”, and pray they did. The next morning this man awoke to a completely straight leg, which was healed. As he told this story, the way he ended it will stick with me for a while. He did a little jump for us and, again, responded with an enthusiastic, “God is so good”!
The beautiful thing about this man’s life and this very brief encounter was that, my not even being able to speak or understand his language wasn’t a hindrance in the least. His love for the Lord and the joy he had needed no translator. His joy was coming through his living. With hands raised and head lifted, he would just declare over and over, “God is so good”.
I guess I am in a confessing mood this evening so I feel one more might be necessary. Honestly? I forget this truth sometimes, that God is good. I get caught in routine. I allow schedules, papers, assignments and busyness distract me from the sometimes still-small voice of God. This week wasn’t about a third world country or my bringing God into a region that He wasn’t a part of. It was about joining in on a song being sung around the world and a song I heard loudly being sung by the people of Haiti. A song that simply says, “God is so good”.
I cannot begin to express the blessing and honor it is to serve alongside amazing hearts that sing loudly with their love and lives. Where ever you are right now, how about joining me in the song. You don’t have to have perfect pitch to sing it. All you have to do is lean in and hear it being sung in the lives of those singing it loudly. Then, join in on the song. It’s a song about God’s love, Jesus’ sacrifice and forgiveness and the Holy Spirit will sing it through you. Ready? I’ll start.
God is so good.
Amen and AMEN!
