The gift of being a witness, alone.

The first week of ministry has brought this question to my mind: Will I be okay knowing that I may not see the fruits of my labor come to fruition?

For a few days I struggled with this, until God gave me the humility to realize that nothing is about me. Any ministry I could do with my life isn’t mine, it’s Gods and He allows me to partner with Him to witness it. Isn’t that the best gift? My life is not my own, and my life is not about me. Any ministry that I do isn’t my work because I am just an obedient servant who is blessed to be used as a vessel of His mercy. Therefore, I may not see the fruits of my labor come to fruition here and that is okay. God is still good and He will continue to move without me because He doesn’t need me. Can I get an Amen?

Here is one story of what God was already doing in Jaco before I arrived: Jaco is a place where people come when they need to fill a void and think partying, sex, drugs, etc. is the answer. There is a man (for the sake of this blog we will call him Paul) who has been so radically changed by God through the ministry here. Paul was abused as a child and ran away when he was just 8 or 9. He was then abducted and forced into a heroin addiction and continual sexual abuse. When he escaped his abductor he found refuge in a drug cartel. Due to the nature of the culture he grew up in, he was involved in a lot of horrible things. (I will not go into detail because this is a God glorying story not a story to highlight what satan has done.) God pursued, and continues to pursue, Paul so fervently that he now has been clean from heroin for 40 years and helps local homeless people check into rehab. This man rattles off scripture in every conversation he has. Not to prove a point that he has changed, but because God has shown His face to Paul and His word is written on Pauls heart. 

Praise God that He doesn’t need me. Praise God that He allows me to have open eyes and an open heart to witness Him move.