Nawapenda

Beloved, let us love one another,

for love is of God; 

and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

He who does not love does not know God, 

for God is love.

1 John 4:7-8 (NKJV)

Sometimes you just gotta love.

When I was in Africa we did a crusade.

We set up a stage in the middle of a market and spoke about the Lord.

The were choirs that sang and danced and then there was a message.

Following the message we had an altar call.

We prayed for the sick, broken, and the captives.
There was a deliverance tent for the demon-posessed.

When demons started to be afraid they tried to shame people.

We brought them into the tent and prayed through deliverance.

There was a particular girl who was in the tent every day.

She was 18.

One day I was feeling overwhelmed by so many people and I didn't have a translator so I went to the deliverance tent.

I looked in and saw this precious girl.

She looked up at me and shame flooded her entire face.

She was embarrassed and had no control over herself.

She was rolling on the ground slithering like a snake. 

When I looked into her eyes I saw a child. 

She was so afraid.

I felt the Lord say "love her."

I went to her and helped her off the ground and sat her in a chair.

I found a translator and tried to build a relationship with her, but it wasn't really working because of the language barrier.

Words were not working.

I let it go and I remembered how to say I love you in Swahili.

"Nawapenda"

 I gave her a hug and just kept saying it over and over.

She hugged me like a child who had never felt love before.

I saw she had lost her shoes at some point during the day.
I wanted to buy her shoes to show her love.

I grabbed a translator and Kadin to go buy her shoes, but it was dark and
time for us to leave the market.

This precious girl had to walk home with no shoes.

God only knows how far.

I climbed into the van with a broken heart.

I was bawling my eyes out.

I just wanted to buy her shoes.

Kadin started to pray over me and I finally calmed down a little.

I started to pray and give the burden to God and begged Him to be with her.

I begged the Lord to set her free and draw her in His arms.

Kadin said we could buy her shoes tomorrow.

So, the next day I looked everywhere for her.

I couldn't find her but she found me.

I grabbed her, got Kadin and took her to buy shoes.

Two white folks who don't know Swahili took her with no translator to buy shoes.

I got the point across as well as I could and we went from store to store letting her try shoes on.

We ran into one of Kadin's translators and he helped us out.
We had him tell her to pick out whatever shoes she wanted.

After running from store to store we went back to the first place and picked these
 simple black flip flops.

I asked her if those were the ones she wanted and she said yes.

We bought them and I handed her the bag.

I gave her a hug and I felt the demon flee.

It left at the act of love.

Why? Because God is love.

She was completely set free because of love.

I didn't pray a special prayer with the right words.

 I didn't read a certain scripture to her.

I didn't even yell and command the demon to leave.

I just loved her.

The devil knows scripture, the devil can say special words, and the devil can yell.

Without love all of these things are meaningless.

Even the devil can do them.

GOD IS LOVE.

It's the most simple complex thing of all.

Love is so simple, yet it is so powerful that it makes demons flee.

It's easy to become caught up in a certain way of doing something.

I don't know about you, but I like to have a plan or a guideline of how to fix something.

There is no plan or guideline to follow with love.

God is love.

You love by knowing Who love is.

When you seek the Father you find love and how it is shown.

Greater love has no one than this,

than to lay down one's life for His friends

John 15:13 (NKJV)

Stop worrying about following rules.

Stop trying to plan out love.

JUST LOVE.