The World Itself Could Not Contain the Books

Over the past couple of weeks I have tried to start a blog post, but honestly was stuck not knowing what to write about or how to write it. The past few weeks of ministry have been so beautifully tough, it’s hard to put into words what the Lord has done. Coming into the summer I knew I would get to see the Lord do a lot, but I had no clue in what capacity. I fully expected to see radical healings, crazy testimonies, and potentially even the casting out of demons. However, this summer the Lord has been teaching my team and I the beauty in the everyday, “mundane”, simple moments.

Have we seen Him heal? Absolutely! Have we experienced breakthrough and freedom like never before? 100%! But looking back over the past month those are not the things that take precedence. If I were to leave today and someone were to ask me “What happened in Zambia?” my first answer wouldn’t include the radical. It would include that my team and I have found a new hunger for the Lord, a desire for more every day. It would include that we have met many Zambians who are already believers and had the opportunity to encourage them in their walk with the Lord. It would include that ministry has often looked very different than expected, and many days the place we have encountered Him the most is as we dance around undignified during worship, or as another team member shares his/her testimony.

The book of John ends with “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” Until this summer, I don’t think I fully understood what John meant by this. It was so easy to read that and think “Jesus’s ministry on earth was only 3 years, how could you not fit all of that?” But taking into consideration that those books wouldn’t just include the crazy miracles God did, but also the simple moments, it makes so much more sense. The amount He does every day, has done since his incarnation and life, and will continue doing for eternity, is so immensely beautiful a book (or many books) couldn’t even begin to chip at the surface.

He makes sunrises beautiful. He gives me the strength to pray, read my Bible, and worship when I may not feel like it, because my relationship with Him is not based on a feeling. He gives me a favorite color, food, animal, hobby, etc. so I can find excitement in life. He gives me humor, and laughs alongside me. He gives me the fruit of the Spirit, because in my own strength I can’t make it through the day being loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, and gentle, or have self-control. He has given me sight to see the beauty He has created, and wow is He an amazing artist. He has given me taste to enjoy nourishing my body, taking care of His temple. He has given me touch to enjoy hugging each of my teammates goodnight, or comfort someone when they are struggling. The list could literally go on forever.

My team and I have just under a month left, and I can confidently say that if the Lord didn’t do anything radical in that time I would leave happy. If all He did was continue to show us the “small” ways He can show up I would be satisfied with how our time in Zambia ended. Because while He is a God of miracles, a God of amazing, supernatural things, He is also a God of the everyday. He’s a God of the morning and waking up, a God of fellowship and community, a God of the evening and rest. Although I knew this before this trip, He has been showing my the reality of what it looks like to live in this truth and fully believe it with everything I am!