Recently, our team has changed. We said goodbye to one of our teammates who returned to the U.S. earlier this week. With this change, the statement is even more confusing. My seven teammates were God's fully sufficient provision for me for 4 months, and now my six teammates are God's fully sufficient provision for me. Does that confuse you too?
Thankfully, that's not all we were told. We were also told, "The reality is that your team won't meet all your needs. Even a wonderful team does not have all the components to fill every hole you have.... So it's important to remember that your team may be good, but it won't be perfect."
At first, those two statements may seem contradictory. But I love the second statement. My team won't meet all of my needs. They're not meant to meet them all. God is. There are holes built within me that only Jesus can fill. I have needs that only my Father can meet. I can't look to my team or my friends at home to meet those needs. I need to look to Him.
These past four months have been a continuous reminder that my team and my friends in America can't meet all of my needs. I get that second truth even though I often struggle with acting it out.
The real struggle is with that first statement: That my team is my fully sufficient provision. That God knows those people are my fully sufficient provision. But thankfully, God showed me that truth in a big way this week.
On Friday, we dropped our teammate off at the airport. It was time to say goodbye. We stood outside the airport entrance because visitors are not allowed to enter. The seven of us gathered around him and his luggage; we layed hands on him and prayed. We were oblivious to the people around us until we finished our prayer and a lady walking by chimed in an "Amen!"
After a round of hugs, he left. The seven of us didn't know what to do as we waited for him to get through check-in and security. So we did what we love to do: we sang. We huddled in a circle with our arms around each other, swayed, and worshipped. And you know what? It didn't feel awkward. It felt right. In that moment, in the Ghanaian night breeze, in a huddle of random White people outside the airport, I understood that this team is my fully sufficient provision. We were experiencing separation from a friend and so many other things, but in that time of worship, there was no other place I could picture myself, no other scenario that seemed right.
Earlier that evening, some of us had watched the streaming of the Passion 2013 conference. We talked about how we craved large, loud, corporate worship. But as we stood with the seven of us singing a capella, I didn't want Passion 2013. I wanted to share life with my six teammates. I wanted to worship outside of an airport, be attacked by mosquitos, and not care about what the Ghanaians thought about the random group of White people singing unknown songs.
As difficult as some days are, this team is my fully sufficient provision for the year. And it's not because this team is amazing or complete in itself. It's because God is God. He's my fully sufficient provision every day, whether I choose to believe it or not. And He's blessed me with a team to share life with. God could have asked me to go overseas alone. But He didn't. He gave me a team - a group of imperfect people who love the imperfect me and patiently point me back to Christ when I'm being a fool.
I'm not sure what's in store over these next six months, but I do know there will be more "Aha!" moments like the one outside of the airport. And there will be more "What a sick joke" moments where I doubt the fullness of this provision. But no matter what, every day will have moments where God reminds me that He will meet all of my needs in His own way, not because I deserve it, but because He lovingly promises and He is faithful to fulfill His promises.
"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need." (Luke 12:31)
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