Seeing Reality
Lopez Lomong lived in a Kenyan refugee camp for a very long time, and as we read in his book Running For My Life, he kept waiting for his parents to come rescue him. He was convinced that they were on their way to get him, but weeks and months went by and they never came.
When Waiting Becomes Wishing: Lopez Lomong's Turning Point
Lomong would walk around the camp asking everybody about his parents, until one day one of his friends got straight with him and told him to stop thinking that way. He pointed over to a boy who would sit in his tent all day long hugging his knees and rocking and crying, his mind slowly slipping away. Lomong's friend said, "You cannot sit and wish for something that is never going to happen, or you will lose your mind. No, you must focus on the here and now. Do your chores. Go to school. Keep your mind busy. The past is gone. It will not come back. You must live in this day."
When Lomong started to argue, his friend said, "No buts! This is the life you now have. You must accept it and go forward or you will end up like that other boy."
Lomong then says that once he made peace with the fact that he was not going to see his home again, things got a lot easier.
Now this is a hard truth. But it's an important one, and perhaps one that you and I need to hear. If we are wishing for something that is never going to happen, we are only driving ourselves crazy. The better option is to focus on the here and now - to live today with all of our might, and accept the situation we are in now, rather than fixate on something that may never happen.
Trusting God While Living in the Present
Of course, this is not to say we can't dream for something better, and work for a change, and pursue something – of course we can. This is not defeatism which says that there is no way out. It just means that you cannot wait for somebody else to come in and save the day for you. You need to do what you can do, throwing yourself into life as you are able, and not wishing for something that may never materialise.
Now, you can certainly pray. But remember to pray that God's will be done, as the Lord's Prayer directs us to do. Pray for God to change things, if it is His will, and do all you can to bring His change into your situation. But then trust that He is in control, and that He is your strength and your shield and your help, and simply carry on with your head held high.
It worked for Lomong in the worst of circumstances - as we shall see in next week's devotions. It will work for you too.
Share in the comments how God spoke to you in this devotion, and have a great weekend!
Lopez Lomong found peace only once he stopped waiting for a rescue that was never coming and chose to live fully in the present - ask yourself today what you may be fixating on instead of trusting God with the here and now.