The Oil Kept Flowing

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  Hello friends! It has officially been over a week since my team and I have arrived in the beautiful country of South Africa! I am currently sitting outside the Impact Africa base looking over the rolling hills of this breathtaking place the Lord has called me to and was faithful in getting me here. My ears are filled with the sound of birds and Maverick City Music. I feel the slight cold chill as South Africa’s winter ends and is replaced with warm sun and flowers in full bloom. Constantly, seasons are beginning and ending. Things are changing, the Lord is growing me and stretching me. The things around me seem to be moving so fast, I cant quite seem to catch my breath. Before a season even comes to an end, Im already thinking of what’s coming next. My brain cant seem to take in what’s happening right in front of me. I’m always in the mindset of “this next season is going to be amazing.” Thats good in a sense, I’m hopeful that things ahead will be good, but 

  I forget that I’m living in the Lord’s promise right now. In this moment, I’m sitting in South Africa, the place the Lord pressed on my heart in January of this past year. The Lord got me here. Why cant I simply praise Him for that? I wasn’t even planning on writing any of that, but the Spirit just kind of took over I guess haha. 

  This past week, we have had the opportunity of walking through the communities here in South Africa that are known as “squatter camps.” These camps are filled to the brim with families, single mothers, and children that have come from all over Africa in search of jobs. The conditions are like nothing I’ve seen before. There is a constant sewage river flowing through the community that is full of trash and who knows what else. The people are constantly on defense, their job is to protect themselves and their families. Men are stumbling around, intoxicated. Babies are walking around by themselves through the streets with no guardian in sight. This is what the naked eye might see. Nothing but poverty and sadness. This was my first impression as well, oh but the Lord redeemed my thoughts. He showed me that where there might be danger, there is love for one another that surpasses blood relation. Where there might be poverty, there is richness in appreciation for the things the Lord has given them. Where there might be a lack of couches and places to sit, there is fellowship in the alley ways that I’ve never seen before. I don’t say this to cover up the hardships that the precious people of South Africa (whom I’ve come to adore) have to endure, its simply a reminder for me and, hopefully for whoever reads this, that the Lord truly is a redeemer. My God takes things that seem to have no hope and gives it a whole new meaning. I love the line from one of my favorite Maverick City Music songs, “You love impossible situations.” We look at these squatter camps and say there is no way we can fix this, and that’s true. Without the Lord, my dreams are simply dreams. My hopes are just hopes, not reality. But with the Lord, He takes my heart and my dreams and uses them for the furthering of His kingdom. 

  The founder of Impact Africa, Rich Franzen, spoke one morning to our team on the story of “Elisha and the Widow’s Oil.” I had heard this story about the widow who had only a jar of oil and asked Elisha the prophet for help. The Lord asked her to get as many jars as she could and the Lord filled them all with oil until she was able to pay off her debts. At first, I was like “cool, ok another talk on the Lord’s provision.” This was me being extremely naive. This passage in 2 Kings 4 is only 7 verses, but it is packed with some truth that I had never even noticed before Rich’s talk. 

  In verse 2, Elisha asks the widow, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what do you have in your house?” This seems kind of a wild thing for the prophet to ask. This woman’s husband had just died and her sons were in danger of being taken away, Elisha should have known she did not have much to give, but he asked her anyway. In this instance, the widow represents us and Elisha represents the Lord. Yes, its true, God sees your needs because He knows you more than anyone. But the verse in 1 John 5:14 states, “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.” Yes, the Lord knows our needs, but we still must ask. James tells us that “…we have not because we ask not….” Perhaps asking puts us in a place of dependence on the Lord, rather than being self-sufficient or presumptuous. When we ask God for something, it’s a humble acknowledgment that we are needy and He is our good and benevolent Father – willing to give us the things we desire. The widow had to come humbly before the prophet and voice her needs. And then he asks “what do you have in your house?” The Lord knows what we have, He simply wants to know how much we are willing to give up. The widow had a modest jar of oil, and the Lord said “I can use that.” He uses the little we might have and turns it into something beautiful. I don’t have the most eloquent words when we are out speaking to people about Jesus. I don’t have every verse in Scripture memorized. I don’t know what to say to lady in the squatter camps after she tells me her husband used to beat her, then her boyfriend brought her to South Africa and left her there with her 6 month old baby.  There is so much I lack, but I’m choosing to give the little I do have and let the Lord use it for His good. 

  So many times, I catch myself praying from a place of “lacking.” Like the widow, I come before the Lord and list all the things I’m in need of. Instead, we should be coming before the Lord with thankfulness. I should be thanking the Lord for the love He’s given me for His children, for His favor in the safe, and mostly easy, 15 hour flight from the States. He’s given me this joy that could have only come from Him. The woman in this story was asking for provision, when she already had the resource in her hands. If only she knew that the Lord could use her one jar oil she possessed and turn it into something bountiful. Today, I am asking the Lord to remind me of my benefits. Instead of asking why the people in these squatter camps must live in these conditions, I’m going to thank Him for opening my eyes to the situation and giving me a heart for them. I am now an advocate for them. Instead of asking the Lord to reveal my future to me that seems so cloudy and unknown, I’m going to thank Him for His consistent faithfulness throughout my life. Thank the Father today, most likely you already possess the resources, now it’s just time to pray for the miracle.