Youssouf Dembele: Looking

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Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LordI will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:17-18

“The prophet places his entire confidence in the Lord and draws his strength from Him. He recognizes that God is the source of salvation. What an encouragement for us in Africa! In the midst of wars, famine, and social injustice, we can still rejoice on the basis of our trust in the sovereign God. God is doing great works in our continent. He is looking for men and women who will build up the wall and stand before Him in the gap on behalf of the continent so that he will not have to destroy it.”

Youssouf Dembele in Africa Bible Commentary: A One-Volume Commentary Written by 70 African Scholars, edited by Tokunboh Adeyemo (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 1092.

Few books in the Bible have encouraged me more than Habakkuk during COVID. If you have not read it. Read it. It begins with lament, which feels fitting for the times, and ends with hope and praise.

While I don’t know this scholar from Mali, I appreciate his depiction of the Lord when all is crumbling around Him. He is “looking for men and women who will build up the wall.”

So what does this have to do with generosity? Don’t miss it. If you and I give our lives to building up what is broken, our generous God will meet our needs, replenish what we share, and refill what we dispense. It’s how God works!

What I’ve found in my global work is that when we help such people, God helps us. This isn’t prosperity gospel but God’s design for providing. So, again I invite you to join me in supporting the Francophone Africa regional campaign for GTP.

The aim is to raise $2,000 USD to build up these builders. They need stewardship resource and help setting up a peer accountability group. God supplied a gift yesterday but we are only at $131 toward the goal. Pray and give as God leads.

Let me add this about Mali. GTP’s programs have touched people there. Of the 155 givers to GTP last year, one gift came from Mali. That giver was so blessed they wanted others to be helped as they were served. All glory to God.