Mark 8 tells the story of some four thousand men, plus women and children, who followed and stayed with Messiah for three days. Mind you, this was all spontaneous. As they heard of Him moving through their area they went out to see Him with no thought to what would happen after that. They didn't know in advance that once they saw Him, they would be so enthralled by His teaching and miracles that they simply wouldn't want to leave off from following after Him. Some of them traveled a long way over three days, having no plans or means to feed themselves.

This suggests a remarkable faith on the part of that multitude. Indeed, they were entrusting themselves to their faithful Creator to meet their needs. They were not disappointed. For His grand finale in their region, Messiah fed that entire multitude with seven loaves and a few fish, and then sent them on their way. Surely, they went away filled, and praising their loving Creator for all the things they had seen, heard, and experienced. This is what following the lead of your faithful Creator looks like!

Following His lead involves a kind of joyful abandon. If you are walking in His will you can afford not to worry a great deal about unknown details. If He is in it, that is enough. He will be there. He will meet the needs. There is a freedom in that like nothing else you can experience. A joy that bubbles up from inside of you immersing you in the unbounded love of your Heavenly Father.

One of the best examples I've seen of this sort of experience was on a mission trip in Kenya. Our small mission team was traveling from place to place in the interior of the country, seeking out the little villages in the remote areas, called "the bush" - mostly near the Lake Victoria region. The people in the remote villages live in homes similar to the one in the picture to the right. While the shape may vary, the construction materials we saw are pretty much the same everywhere. The houses are made of sticks woven together, packed with manure dried in the sun. The floors are dirt and the roof is a sort of thatched roof. Normally there are scrawny-looking sheep and goats wandering around, maybe some chickens, or an occasional cow. The people live very simple lives. 

We had an English-speaking native guide to help us find these remote villages, and to interpret for us. Sometimes we would travel as far as we could go in our vehicles, would have to leave them, and then travel miles more on foot. At first we were surprised by what we found in some of these villages. Most of the people were already believers. Many of them deeply loved Messiah, whom they call "Yesu" in the Swahili tongue. Culturally speaking, they actually live a lot more like the ancient tribes of Israel than like modern society. They practice a tribal lifestyle that is not familiar or comfortable for many of the churches sponsored by the West - so they are not welcome in those churches. This leaves the tribal people feeling that they are some sort of second class believers - not quite acceptable to God or man. This sort of condemnation is a burden that no believer should have to carry, since "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Messiah Yeshua, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:1

That's why I was there. I was carrying a message for them, showing them from the Scriptures that they need not be culturally westernized to be accepted by the Father. At first it was funny, because the African men would all show up in business suits in the middle of the jungle, only to find me wearing their traditional tribal clothing, like the Dashiki pictured here! Soon they were putting the suits away and wearing the beautifully colored clothes they were most comfortable in. Since they live tribally, the Torah is a perfect fit for them, and I encouraged them to follow the Commandments as the standard of righteousness for their way of life. Word soon got out about us, and we would be surprised to visit some remote little village, only to find a great crowd of people already waiting to greet us and hear our message! It was not unusual for people to travel on foot for days just to get to us - to hear what for them was a life-changing message. They didn't worry about the details, they just came, trusting in Yesu to care for them on the trip. They longed to hear and be assured through Scripture that they were/are loved and accepted by the Father in Yesu, our Savior, as the wonderful believers they are! When they felt that assurance of love and acceptance from above, the whole crowd would erupt into spontaneous song praising God! That sweet African blending of voices in praise is unique in all the world. When you hear it breaking out all around you your heart simply melts in worship, in your Father's love. They came in faith and they were fed: their spirit was fed, and so was their body. There was a sharing born of the Spirit that met every need.

This for me was a lot like the Mark 8 story. I was there because Messiah had compassion for these dear believers, so He sent me to them from the other side of the world with the message they needed to hear. For my part, I followed His lead and went there, not knowing in advance who I would meet, what I would say, or what would happen. All I knew is that He would be there. As for the people, they came when led, without thought to their own physical needs, with full faith.   

We formed a bond together in Yesu. They let me in to their lives and families in a remarkable way. One family even named their newborn baby son after me! I went there to tell them they are accepted in Him - and they told me I am accepted by them! They named me O-key-low (I don't really know the correct spelling). They said it means "bringer of good news." I was completely overwhelmed and blessed beyond words, and so were they.

I say all of that to say this: Follow the lead of your faithful Creator and abundant blessings are sure to follow!

Mark 8. Join us tonight at 8 PM CST at Tsiyon.Net for our online meeting.

Abundant blessings to you!

Eliyahu ben David
Tsiyon.Org