Jared Osman’s powerful message gave conviction and faith to our hearts that encouraged us with hope. In lieu of our load-shedding crisis and our country’s other failings, if you have started hearing the voice of the enemy whisper “GO”, then this timely word is for you! When life gets difficult, hard and uncomfortable, it is in our nature to want to leave, whether it is caused by our country, our marriage or our job. Those “Anywhere But Here” moments can leave us questioning our choices and asking ourselves how we got to where we are or why we want to be living here.
God reminds us in Acts 17:26 that He sent us to the city we are living in. He put us in this very location for a specific purpose, knitting us into the community we find ourselves in. Where you are is not a place, but a mission field, with our calling. If you don’t believe you have what it takes then be encouraged that God sends His unqualified people to show that His power is unequal.
So how do we live here, when everything in us wants to run away? The answer is found in the narrative of Jeremiah 29.
1) Be a Resident
God expects us to build homes, settle, marry and have children. Although we are ultimately
citizens of Heaven, we need to learn how to be ex-pats on Earth. We need to adopt victory
language even though we feel like we are living in exile. This means we need to pray for our
country and for peace and prosperity to reign here. We are all missionaries sent into a messy
world, to shine the light into the darkness.
2) Be an Alien
You may be living here as a foreigner, but have you truly settled down or are you still living
with one foot here and the other foot there? Stop living as if you are just passing through.
You were saved from brokenness to wholeness and from your wholeness you can save the
broken. In 1 Peter 2:11, we are reminded that with heaven as our eternal home, as
temporary foreigners on this earth, we are warned not to allow worldly desires to wage war
against our souls. As we imitate Christ, the world needs to recognise that we are different.
Your works and your actions show where you are from.
3) Be a Servant
Know that you are an Ambassador of Christ, sent to serve the Community He places you in.
Live with a mind for others and stop focusing on your needs, your comfort, and your desires.
It is time to start praying for South Africa and stop hating it because you can’t do both. When
you pray, God will change your heart. We do not serve to get saved, but we are saved to
serve. Jesus stayed on the Cross, not by His will but by God’s.
What we see from the pattern in Jeremiah is that God doesn’t save us from our suffering, but He saves us IN it. God meets us in our situation and gives us rest during it, so we can endure it with hope.
WHOSE VOICE IS TELLING YOU TO GO?
We need to start identifying whose voice is telling us to go. Is it our own, out of anxiety or fear, or is God sending us to a different Mission field? Only when we can truly recognise God’s voice, will we know for certain if leaving South Africa is the right decision to make.