Dependence: Guest Blogger Jill Kyser prt 2

We are getting use to life right now. Its a little odd but we are adjusting. Todd is interviewing at different places this week, and we just pray that God puts him in a place where he will be able to be a dad and still work. We are expecting a pay cut. Todd was at the top of his game when he left his company, so we know that you can't start at the top...and we are okay with that. We had gotten use to a life of frivolousness and now, we have to get use to a life of necessity. As I was trying to drown myself is self pity that I couldn't go and buy the stuff I wanted for my next pinterest project I decided to catch up on the lives of my friends The Kysers. If you remember a few years ago I shared about how they (mom and dad and their 3 kids) had been called to be missionaries in Africa. Well they have been there about a year, they have welcomed their 4th child and they are still serving the Lord. 

The below post is what Jill posted today. Its amazing how God uses your friends to speak to you.

 

 

Dependence

Dependence- Websters defines it this way: 1) the quality or state of being dependent; especially: the quality or state of being influenced or determined by or subject to another 2) reliance; trust

I love that definition.  This is lesson number one that the Lord has taught me over the past year.  Dependence.  I thought I was dependent upon the Lord before moving here.  I thought I trusted HIM for everything and turned to HIM for what I needed.  I did not.  I lived in a society that had more than enough of EVERYTHING.  If I needed fuel, I went and got it (and I complained if I had to wait 10 minutes for the two cars in front of me to fill up first).  If I needed food then I went to one store and was assured that it would be there.  If it wasn't there it was surely at another store and all I had to do was let the store manager know what was missing and it would be there next time.  If my power went out then I knew that I could call Entergy and let them know (although hundreds of other people had already beat me to it I'm sure) and that teams from hundreds of miles away would be hauling tail to get to our area if we needed more help to get that power on quickly.  And if water went out, well....our water never went out.  That was unheard of.

But I didn't consider these luxuries as hampering my dependency upon the Lord.  I mean, when we think of dependency on HIM we think of good health, safety, and well-being.  Right? We think of the big things that the Lord can provide for us like a home, a job, a husband, or a child.  Well, Philippians 4:19 says that, "my God will supply all your needs according to His riches and glory in Christ."  Notice that word: ALL.  He will supply everything that we need.  He has proven this time and time again in our lives but many times we credit our own resourcefulness with HIS provisions.  Honestly, I'd just never HAD to depend on God for a lot.  I lived in one of the richest societies ever known to man.

Then the Lord changed all that.  We were called to Malawi and our world literally got turned upside down.  Summer is now winter.  Winter is now summer.  Left is now right.  And right is now wrong.  We have gone without (yet we still live like kings compared to the vast majority of the country).  We have searched for things in vein. We have rejoiced over sugar being on the shelves.  We have cried when those around us have taken our trash home to their family for supper. We've learned so much. We've changed so much.  But the most important lesson is that we have learned that we truly are dependent on HIM to supply all of our needs.  All things come from Christ.  Our daily bread, our needed water, our comfort and peace...it all comes from HIM.  And the miracle that we see daily is that HE indeed supplies it!!!

Acts 2:22 says, "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst, as you yourself know...".  When Jesus was on the Earth he performed many miracles, signs, and wonders.  The fact is, He still performs these miracles, signs, and wonders but we are sometimes blind to see them.

Our fuel tank is currently below empty and there is no sign of petrol anywhere in the country.  But I know that the Lord will provide for us when it is time.  How do I know this?  Because He has proven himself time and time again.  Sometimes he provides before the needle hits "E" and sometimes he provides after.  Sometime I'm sure he will let us walk or ride our bikes and this is a provision in itself.  The fact is, HE WILL PROVIDE even if it's not when and how we want.  He is faithful and true.  He is always there and He knows what we need without our asking.

Our fuel tanks are low quite often here (literally and spiritually) yet it is in these times of need that we have become dependent upon HIM.  Praise God for our need!  Praise God for HIS provisions.  Praise God for our dependence!

Jill

Guest Blogger: Jill Kyser

Since we are away at Disney, I wanted to showcase a few of my favorite blogs from some people. Today, I am going to be sharing with you the Kyser Family Blog. (Jill (the mom) Jeremy (her husband) and their 3 kids recently announced that they will being moving to Malawi to be missionaries at the African Bible College. I have had the blessing of getting to know this family over the past year, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for them. Today, I am going to share with you a post that Jill put up on June 16th! Enjoy! and Please join me in praying for this family.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010



The Waterbottle!
Isaiah 65:24
This is a story written by a doctor who worked in Africa . One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive; as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator). We also had no special feeding facilities.
Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates).
'And it is our last hot water bottle!' she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa


it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.
'All right,' I said, 'put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts Your job is to keep the baby warm.'
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.
During prayer time, one ten -year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. 'Please, God' she prayed, 'Send us a hot water bottle today It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.'
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, 'And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?'
As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say 'Amen?' I just did not believe that God could do this.
Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything; the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever, received a parcel from home.
Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there on the verandah was a large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children.. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly-colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored.. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend.
Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the.....could it really be?
I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried.
I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could.
Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, 'If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!'
Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully-dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!
Looking up at me, she asked, 'Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?'
'Of course,' I replied!
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator.
And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it 'that afternoon.'

'Before they call, I will answer.' (Isaiah 65:24)