Dear friends of Young Leaders International,
How easy is it for you to remain consistently aware of God’s active involvement in your everyday life? I confess that despite what I have been privileged to do for a living for the last 15 years, I can easily work all day, focused on what I am trying to accomplish without a thought that except for God I wouldn’t have strength for the next breath, much less accomplish my goals for the day. As YLI’s long-time board chair, Barry Sutlive has reminded me with a smile on more than one occasion, “Ash, you know you bring absolutely nothing to the table. God brings 100%. It’s all up to Him.” Barry’s point is not that I should doubt myself, but rather remember that God is so sufficient that concerns about my own abilities are wasted time.
Over the years I’ve noticed that my West African friends have a more innate awareness of their human smallness in comparison to God’s ineffable ability. For them, “the spiritual” is not a separate reality to the physical and material world. Rather, God’s presence, as well as the dangers of spiritual darkness are as interwoven into reality as the person sitting next to you. The opportunity of approaching the throne of God in prayer is not taken for granted. Prayer proceeds every meeting, meal, and especially, road trip.
In my early YLI years, I arrogantly assumed that all this prayer was for show, a way of demonstrating personal piety. Not at all. It was I who had a faulty understanding and needed to be discipled in prayer by Vincent, Jonah, and Naomi. The Coaches knew better than me the limits of their human agency, and that if God didn’t show up, all would be lost. This awareness did not decrease their own effort. It motivated them to work tirelessly in ministry, knowing that although they bring nothing to the table, God can always be relied upon to show up with His 100%.
The Akan people of Ghana have a beautiful language of symbols called Adkinkra which predate literacy and Christianity in the country. God used these symbols to later aid the Akan people to see the truth of Jesus Christ. One popular Adinkra symbol is the Gye Name. It means Except for God. My personal translation is, “If God doesn’t show up, we’re in big, big trouble.” This year, once again, we saw that He always does show up with His 100%.
Sincerely,
Ash Zook, Executive Director
youngleadersinternational.org 