“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”
2 Chronicles 16:9
The words were loud and clear. “Have you tried Ha Moruthoane?”
“What?” I asked, startled by the voice, and quickly turning to see who was speaking. Right behind us was a man with dark brown eyes, looking at both my husband and me.
“Have you tried Ha Moruthoane school? There is a job for you.”
We were standing at a bus stop waiting for a bus to take us to Morija, a small village in Lesotho.
My husband had left Uganda in search of greener pastures in South Africa. Having failed to get a placement in South Africa, he was advised to try Lesotho. A kind couple graciously hosted my husband there while he looked for a job. Three months later, I joined him in Lesotho because as a teacher, the job prospects were better for me.
I hit the ground running, going from one school to another, getting one regret letter after another. In our distress, we prayed and fasted for days, seeking God’s guidance. Still, the situation seemed to be getting more hopeless, and we felt helpless to do anything about it.
Three more months went by, and we felt like we were becoming a burden to our hosts. And so, to lessen the burden, we decided that I would temporarily live with my brother in South Africa. For a newly married couple in a strange land, that was a tough decision to make, but we felt it necessary.
I planned to leave to go to my brother’s on a Monday, so on the last Sabbath before my scheduled departure, we decided to use our remaining 30 Rands to go and bid farewell to the members at the Adventist church we had been attending in Maseru- (Lesotho’s capital city). While all the church members were friendly, there was a very special couple who had been particularly kind to us. On our previous visits, they would take us to their home for lunch and, afterward, drive us back to our temporary home in Morija.
It was a tearful and emotional farewell. Adding to the drama of the day, the kind couple we expected would take us home could not after all because their car had broken down.
With heavy hearts, my husband and I forlornly and dejectedly walked the dusty path towards the bus stop. And on that very hot summer day, God put a song on my heart. I started singing softly under my breath:
I must tell Jesus all of my trials, I cannot bear these burdens alone; In my distress He kindly will help me, He ever loves and cares for His own. I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus! I cannot bear my burdens alone; I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus! Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.1
I continued singing until we arrived at the bus stop. And it was while we were waiting for the bus, the stranger came out of the blue saying, “Have you tried Ha Moruthoane?”
He gave us the directions to the school, which was conveniently en-route to Morija. Before we could even manage a “Thank you,” the man vanished in the crowd.
We took the bus, and 30 minutes later, we were told that we had arrived at the little village of Ha Moruthoane. We got off the bus, and half-walking, half-running, we made our way toward the school, which was two miles from the main road.
When we arrived, we found a heavyset older man sitting in the yard. We greeted him and without responding, he stood up, walked to the house, and came back with a contract for me to sign.
“School starts on Monday. I expect you to be here by then.”
I stood, looking at him in disbelief.
“You may stay in our accommodation,” he added.
We stood there in a daze. It was like a dream; everything was happening so fast. We kept asking ourselves so many questions.
- How did the man at the bus stop know that we were looking for a teaching job?
- How did he know that we had run out of options and were ready for plan B?
- How did he identify us in such a crowded place?
- How was he so sure that we would get the job?
- How did the older man offer me a contract without asking any questions and not checking my academic credentials?
- How? How? How?
The answer, although complex and mysterious, was also simultaneously very simple: God met us at our greatest point of need. We signed the contract, and we were shown our new home, a grass-thatched round house accommodation, called a “rendezvous,” which became our home for over a year.
We had reached the end of the road with no hope whatsoever, but God amazingly came through for us by sending an angel with a special message of hope.
Thinking about the incident months later, we recognized that the events of the day were all orchestrated by the Lord. His eyes were upon us. The breaking of our friends’ car on our supposedly last Sabbath was God’s providence because, had the vehicle not broken, our friends would have taken us home that afternoon, and we would have missed that divine appointment with the messenger with a special message directly from God.
My friend, no matter your situation, God is real; His eye is upon every sparrow; His eye was upon two desperate sparrows named Fred and Edith. (See Matthew 10:29-31, Matthew 6:25-34, and Luke 12:6-7). He showed up for us in a miraculous way, and He has repeatedly met us at the point of our deepest need. He wants to meet your needs also.
Call to Action
Are you distressed or feeling at the end of your rope? Remember, God is on the other end, and He has a great plan for you too. Why not cry out to Him today? His eye is on the sparrow, and I know that He watches you and all His children; we are never alone. God’s Word reminds us that His eyes “run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).
Remember, “[He] will never leave [us] nor forsake [us]” (Hebrews 13:5b).
All scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
- “I must tell Jesus.” https://hymnary.org/text/i_must_tell_jesus_all_of_my_trials-. or sdahymnal.org/# 485
