"Let Go & Let God"

“Let go & let God!” (or, “what I’m learning through the World Cup”)

I still remember when we started our initial planning for our projects for the World Cup Soccer and I nearly got an anxiety attack... Will we be able to handle everything?!.. Will we have enough support?  Are we going to have enough volunteers to help?  What if?... And I tried my best to regulate and control everything in the smallest possible detail.  But you know what?  I forgot ONE very important thing.  I forgot what a GREAT and WONDERFUL God we serve!  He is THE ONE who holds everything in his hand, not me.

Today is the 20th day of the World Cup Soccer. At Towers of Hope we have already screened 48 worldcup matches for the homeless and destitute (still 8 matches to go), served hundreds of warm meals, and handed out countless blankets and warm jackets / jerseys.  And the feedback that has been steadily coming in from the destitute as well as our volunteers, is one of gratitude, excitement, and a deep sense of God who is at work here.  My anxiety was unwarrented; God Himself sustains his work (cf Ps 90:17).

It has thus become a wonderful liberating experience for me to come to Towers of Hope and suddenly find myself in the midst of a hive of activity and all kinds of ongoing ministry - here there is a group of people preparing food; there a couple of volunteers is occupied in guiding a few homeless people in the the art of some or other craft; outside a team is preparing to go out on street evangelism, while some streetkids is playing around with a soccerball; and through it all supporters and volunteers are dropping off and taking away food, blankets and clothing.  And I?... I’m just so glad that I’m not in control and that the Lord God is teaching me very practically to “let go & let God!”.  Lord, to You all the honour and glory!

-       De la Harpe