My God is so big, so strong, and so mighty

by Lisa S.

I’m reminded of this children’s Christian song as I reminisce of my SMI experience. Our God is so big, so strong and so mighty that there’s nothing our God cannot do. SMI has been such an eye-opening and awesome three weeks where I truly saw God work within the community, team members, and myself. Jesus was so present in every interaction, prayer, and song we sang. Through SMI I was able to understand finding hope in Christ and Jesus being sovereign over all.

Even before SMI started, I was struggling with the question of what it means to find hope in God when everything is seemingly hopeless. Then through SMI, I encountered countless situations where it seemed like there was clear hardship on every side. Mothers wondering what they would feed their children, dads frustrated and hardened by the struggles of this world, churchgoers in anguish as they pass by unconscious men their children’s age before they enter into church, men living in shame of what they have done, and daughters without dads in their life. In this pain I felt the heartbrokenness of so many people who were frustrated, confused and lost. Just hearing these stories have led me to kneel down and cry out for these people. These situations have brought me to the question of what does it mean to find hope in God amid hopelessness? What does it mean for our God to be the God of hope?

Our God is the God of hope. Even though he doesn’t promise us to save us from current struggles (John 16:33), He promises an eternity with Him, one without pain and sorrow. We can find rest and hope in Him that because of Christ’s death and resurrection, we can face tomorrow. Jesus is the One and Only Hope for Kensington and every other place in the world.

 Thus, I am reminded to bring it all to God. To spend moments in the quiet, wrestling and grieving because God allows me to do so; to bring all of my burdens and aches to Him. That as I weep for His people, I worship a Father who cries out even more over the injustice and brokenness happening to and by His children. Yet, I have to remember that my hope comes from things not seen, and that my God is the God of Justice who breaks down strongholds and chains of the oppressed. Ultimately He is sovereign. 

Because God is sovereign, I know that He is in control and was aware of everything that happened in SMI. I’m reminded of a wonderful quote where it’s stated that Jesus is already present in the spaces He invites us to serve and share about Him. Jesus is sovereign. He was sovereign in the team groups that we were placed in. In every house that we visited and health screens we conducted. In every interaction and prayer. And in every heart as we shared the Good News.  There were many days during SMI where it seemed like it was God working out everything behind the scenes so that we could go and talk to certain members of the community. This was experienced whether with a community ambassador randomly seeing a childhood friend on the streets, a worker who was working at a house just because someone else called off last minute, or even someone deciding to get a health screen. This has allowed me to find peace in God and truly trust in Him because He has everything under control. He just calls me to be obedient in the spaces He has invited me and I pray y’all are reminded of that as well. God is at work in every heart and he loves the citizens of Kensington more than we could ever love them.  

Our God is so big, so strong, and so mighty, there’s nothing our God cannot do.