An intern finds God’s unfailing love in remote Uganda
I was asked what I’ve learned during my two months here. The first thing that came to mind is that His love never fails.
I didn’t have to come to Africa to be reminded of that. Sometimes it’s just easier to see in a place like this because I can’t help but focus on His unfailing love. It’s not because God is working more here than He is in the States; it’s just because I’m looking harder. God is always available, always working miracles, always healing, and always answering prayers. But are you looking? Are you asking?
At a care group meeting, a health supervisor educated the group in the local language on antenatal care related to nutrition and the importance of visiting a health clinic when pregnant.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7, NKJV).
I’m guilty of it, too. Soon, I’ll go back to the States, to the daily routine of my comfortable life, where everyday commodities are abundant—actually overflowing—in comparison to here. I will be tempted to not pray as expectantly, seek miracles as often, or rely on the Lord as I do in this environment, because at first glance, the need doesn’t appear to be as evident.
But that’s not the case; although different, our need for Him is equal. God is as powerful and active in an affluent neighborhood as He is in the Katanga slum. He’s probably answering different prayers and fulfilling different needs, but there are just as many lost, hurting, sick, and broken people.
It’s relative; you can find joy on a cruise ship, and you can find it in the depths of a slum. The secret to true joy is Christ.
A dear family friend who has been battling cancer wrote me a beautiful card last week, and in her letter, she wrote, “Putting God first has totally changed my life. I feel awesome because of Him.”
I’m crouching down to enter a manyatta, which is a settlement or compound established by a family or clan to encamp themselves and their livestock.
Her words were a simple reminder that a relationship with Christ is, truly, a transformation. It changes your life, no matter how great your sufferings, from the day you commit yourself to the Lord and ask Him to pour into you, forgive you, and lead you. So what are you waiting for?
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9, NKJV).
I don’t know how I would live or rejoice without Him.
“Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26).
