Wherever You Go

Wherever You Go

Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 43:1-3

During the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Lopez Lomong, one of the “Lost Boys” from Sudan and a competitor in the 1500 meters, carried the flag for his country.

The United States.

Taken from his parents during a church service at a young age and shipped off to a rebel camp, Lopez and three other boys escaped through a hole in the fence and ran west, back toward their home village.

Except that the six-year-old Lopez and his new friends were actually headed south and ended up in Kenya. Lopez spent the next ten years at a refugee camp in Kenya, and with the help of Catholic Charities, he was brought to the United States along with other “Lost Boys” in 2001. Once here, he lived with a family in Tully, New York, just outside of Syracuse.

In Tully, Lopez discovered that the Lord had blessed him with an amazing ability to run. And even though as a six-year-old he ran in the wrong direction and never made it home, God—just as He promises—was running with him. God protected him and directed him to a place where his gift could be developed for God’s Kingdom. Since then, Lopez’s running has opened door after door for him, but his focus has been beyond himself. Throughout it all, his goal has been to use his gift and his citizenship in his adopted country to influence change there and to raise awareness for the plight of Sudan and to encourage investment in the fledgling Republic of South Sudan.

Certainly that six-year-old boy on the run could never have imagined that God would be using him as a means of influence to raise awareness for an entire nation.

That may be the case with you as well. Hopefully you will never be caught in a situation as horrific as Lopez was, but no matter how difficult times become—and they will—know that God has promised that He will walk alongside you, through all of your days.

Uncommon Key > “I am the LORD, your God.” Think of that promise often in the midst of the good and the not-so-good situations that come your way. He is there.