My wife and I had been married only a short while when we felt like we knew that we wanted to settle right where we were in Wellington, South Africa. We loved the place, we loved the local Joshua Generation Church (JoshGen) we were involved in, and we especially loved the people. One day, as my wife (Lize) and I were having this conversation about settling in Wellington long term, wistfully thinking of one day raising our kids there too, I suddenly felt the Holy Spirit’s conviction. I felt Him ask me whether we were just considering our own comforts and dreams or seeking God’s Kingdom first.
The conviction hit us both hard, and my wife (being the prayer warrior she is) went and prayed into this for the Lord to speak to us clearly. About two days later, the Lord spoke to Lize in a dream. In the dream, we had just moved into a new house in Wellington. We were at a prophetic conference and someone came to my wife and said: ‘Lize, I know that you guys just moved into your new house, but you have to let go of what is comfortable for you to embrace the new season that God has for you guys.’
It wasn’t about what was good for us, but rather what would be best for God’s kingdom
We felt God was challenging us to be ready to go (although we hadn’t moved anywhere recently, we still understood the message of the dream). The beautiful thing about God’s voice is that when we hear it, it stirs and builds faith and gives the courage to embrace whatever is coming. Romans 10: 17 says that faith comes by hearing God speak. As God spoke to us, we knew we had to realign our hearts and minds. It wasn’t about what was good for us, but rather what would be best for God’s kingdom, so we realigned our hearts and resolved to actively put God’s Kingdom first.
A year later, nothing had changed. There were no moves on the cards. This time God tested our hearts in the completely opposite direction after we had realigned our hearts to GO – God didn’t open any doors to go. It was easy to feel slightly confused as to why many leaders were still telling us that they feel like God wanted to move us and that we needed to get ready for change when all that lay before us seemed to be further reasons and opportunities to stay and plug into the area where we were. God was testing our hearts, teaching us what it is all about, seeking His kingdom first, and if that meant going or staying, we needed to ensure we had anchored our trust in Him, not in our ability to understand His ways or timings. Again, we realigned our hearts and said, ‘God, if you want us to stay here for the rest of our lives, then we’ll happily stay. Our lives are Yours.’
We knew without a doubt God was on the move and we were in His will.
Just as we made that shift in our hearts, we moved into a new home in Wellington, with the idea of now really settling. We were still busy revamping and unpacking our new house when God started speaking of relocating to another part of Cape Town. Jaco and Erica Erasmus, who at that time were leading JoshGen Durbanville PM congregations, were on their way to Keetmanshoop in Namibia to lead a Four12 church there. In my heart, I felt (about a month before we knew we were going to move to Durbanville) the Lord preparing my heart. I wasn’t exactly sure what was coming, but I knew some change was coming. About three weeks after we moved into our new place in Wellington, Andrew Selley asked us whether we were keen to lead Durbanville PM. We immediately knew this was God, because the dream God had given Lize two years previously (where we had just moved into a new home and God called us to let go and move) spoke of exactly this happening. We knew without a doubt God was on the move and we were in His will.
Our response to this new adventure was, ‘Yes, Lord! We’ll do whatever it is You ask of us.’ Our hearts were fired up and full of faith, because Jesus was walking with us and showing us the next step. Yes, it was crazy to be packing up to move out of Wellington when we had barely unpacked our boxes at our new home, but we were going to follow Jesus’ voice, no matter what. We had never led a congregation or church, we were only in our twenties, so we had many reasons to fear the change, but bigger than all our apprehensions was the awareness of the powerful guiding hand of our Father! God had us, He knew us perfectly, and we believed He would meet us at our point of need.
God will use anyone who makes themselves available for His purposes
I cannot believe that it has now been six months since we began leading Durbanville PM congregation. I feel in many ways that I still don’t know exactly what I am doing, but I’m supported by a wonderful team of elders across JoshGen, and I’m learning and growing day by day. God has called us to lead this congregation and by His grace we’ll do it. This journey has been demanding, challenging, daunting (especially leading people who are the same age as my parents), but above all, it has been very exciting. Whether you are a leader in full-time ministry, a student, housewife or a corporate mastermind, God will use anyone who makes themselves available for His purposes and builds their lives in such a way that it speaks of how they are seeking His kingdom first.
Let the realisation of heaven (our real, forever home) continue to draw us into God’s plans for our lives and away from our own comforts. Anywhere, anytime…when we follow God’s voice, He leads us on great adventures!
