Not that long ago I was working at a home improvement store and I ended up having to help a coworker out in the lumber section for a couple of hours. As he and I moved heavy lumber boards and set sheets of drywall back into place we somehow started talking about travel and various places we'd been or would like to go.
He started to tell me about how he never wanted to go to Africa and that's where things got interesting.
He asked me if I'd ever seen the classic film Naked Prey. I said no and he proceeded to tell me, in great detail, all about this film where several white hunters in Africa offend some local tribesmen and end up being sadistically tortured and killed as a result. One man is roasted alive, another is buried in the ground and killed by fire ants... you get the idea.
Now, both my girlfriend and I have independently felt God share that we may end up in Africa for a time in the future. We don't know what we'll be doing or where we'll be, but that's what God has shared.
So as the gruesome images of sadistic torture and death by African tribesmen raced through my mind, I also started to think about all the horrible stories of warfare and genocide I had heard coming out of Africa from the past few years, and then I threw my future self in the mix. Now, in my mind I knew that Africa was huge and that most of it really was quite safe and wonderful, but the thing about fear is that it only deals in what-ifs and only likes to dwell on the absolute worst-case scenarios.
Part of the reason I was so fearful had to do with the fact that I had been through some really hard things recently, and I was projecting past trauma onto the future. This is something that I believe many of us do, especially if we've grown used to trauma or disappointment.
Little did I know that God was about to have one of his famous "I told you so" moments.
Later that week I ended up going with my girlfriend to church. As we sat there on Sunday morning a couple dressed in traditional African clothing came and sat down near us. I thought this was interesting and after the service was over I went over to introduce myself to them. What happened next was absolutely hilarious.
In addition to being some of the nicest people I've ever met, I learned that they were both from West Africa and planned on returning once they finished school here in the states. To my surprise, the husband started to tell me that I might want to come Africa someday. He laughed as he told me how so many Americans are afraid to come to Africa because they think its way too dangerous. I slightly nodded my head, not letting on that I had recently been thinking like that myself.
He then told me how the vast majority of Africans love America, and that if I ended up going there people would love me everywhere I went and would make sure to look out for me. He then described how well I would be treated and how safe I would be. I just stood there with a bewildered smile on my face taking it all in.
It was as if God was standing there himself, shaking my face and telling me it's all gonna be just fine!
God used this incident to help me let go of old fear and dread and disappointment and actually get excited about the future with Him.
As the new year dawns I want to challenge you take your old hurt, old fears, and old disappointment and lay them at God's feet.
As you do this ask God to help you embrace Him as a God of hope.
Ask Him to help you see the future in a new way, through His lenses.
As you do this, you might just be surprised at what you see.
