I cannot pinpoint the exact moment when I realized God is the God of all I need.
It might have been when God miraculously provided the $9,675 I needed to buy camera equipment that was essential to my work. It may have been when I made a connection with a famous fashion photographer who would ultimately help push me into the industry. Alternatively, it could have been when a seemingly random photo shoot turned me into a national sensation overnight. Opening the doors for me to rub shoulders with influential people at the highest levels of political and societal influence in a Muslim country.
Whenever it was, I am now a believer that when we choose to make God the God of all areas of our lives He will provide everything we need. He’ll provide finances. He’ll provide desire. He’ll provide direction. He’ll provide strategy.
He’ll even provide a calling.
My calling is a unique one. I never saw it coming. I have an MBA. I am a business guy – not an artist. I am not even a photographer. I was living a pleasant life in the southwestern United States. I had a BMW. I liked my prosperous, comfortable life. However, when I surrendered it all to God – my family, my career, and my life – He opened a door I could never have imagined.
I did not particularly have a heart for Muslims before I moved to a Muslim country. Truth is; it was difficult for me to love them at first. However, the words of Jesus, Pray for your enemy, became my obsession. As I prayed for the Muslim world, it happened. Slowly but surely, God provided the desire I needed for the people with whom I would soon be working.
Whenever we would pray about what God had for us across the globe, I kept hearing photography. I was not a photographer. I did not even have a decent camera. It seemed so far-fetched. Maybe I misheard God (was I hearing myself?). After meeting with professional photographers, I found out I’d need nearly $10,000 to get the equipment I needed—money I did not have. Regardless, when I prayed about this impossible need, I heard God say, “ I’ve got this.”
In faith, I set up a website and shot some pictures of four buildings. A few days later a realtor called me. She asked me to shoot some pictures of commercial properties for her, and asked for a price. I quoted her a rate for one. Little did I know, she needed 26 buildings photographed. Total Cost? The exact amount for the equipment I needed.
When we arrived in the country, I still wasn’t sure exactly what we’d be doing. I had taken tons of pictures at various fashion shows and studio shoots as well, in order to build up my portfolio. Though in a moment of “cold feet,” I deleted all of them. After all, who shoots fashion to be salt and light in a closed country? It just didn’t make sense. Nonetheless, we knew God had given our family a heart for Muslims. He would provide direction.
A week after arriving, I sat down in a crowded café. A man came in and sat across from me. He asked what I did. I told him I did some photography. He just happened to be a fashion designer.
One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew, I was thrown onto the national stage. I’ve met Prime Ministers; a President has asked for my services, and people recognize me all the time because of my work in fashion photography. I am featured on national TV regularly.
When I first appeared on TVs across the country, lots of my fellow Christian workers got nervous. It is not the best idea to go on national TV when you are trying to keep a low profile in a country where the penalty for sharing Christ is most often jail time. God wanted to show me once again: He is God of all— including my strategy.
God used a different plan with me. I would not have picked it. I would not even advise it. My organization would not have chosen it. In the end, however, God is God of all strategy. He knows what is best for me. For you.
The strangest thing of all, in my mind, is that God is in control of my strengths and weaknesses. These last two years He has stripped away all my strengths. He has chosen only to use things I would consider weaknesses to further His Kingdom. Again, this seems like a bad strategy in my mind, but God loves to show Himself strong in weakness. I am exhibit A.
So, here’s the take home from my last two whirlwind years serving in a Muslim country—the key is surrender. Surrender your finances. Surrender your calling. Surrender your strategy. Surrender your strengths—and even your weaknesses.
When you surrender, you give God a chance to be the Lord over every aspect of your life. You let Him take control, and you just keep your ears open for what He is got to say—about everything. Living this way can lead you to places you never expected, sharing His love with people you never dreamed possible, in ways you could never have imagined.
Jonathan is a long-term field worker living with his family and working professionally in a closed country. Specific names and references have been omitted for security purpose.
Original article: www.godofall.org/surrender
