I’ve just returned from my first ministry trip to South Africa, and I must tell you—something about it stirred me deeply. I stood on soil where great men and women of God once walked, people like John G. Lake, who obeyed God’s voice and stepped into history. That land is still alive with spiritual hunger and divine destiny. As I ministered, I couldn’t help but reflect on the power and reward of simply following God.

It reminded me of a moment when a young, aspiring missionary sat across from my desk years ago. He was trying to raise support to go to South Africa. He’d been at it for two years—traveling from church to church, meeting with pastors, sharing his calling. But after all that time, he had only secured about half of what he thought he needed. You could see the weariness in his eyes. He was tired and frustrated.

I reached behind me and pulled out a book I had read many times. It told the story of how John G. Lake followed God’s call to South Africa over a hundred years earlier. Lake didn’t wait until everything was perfectly in place or until the money was raised. He simply obeyed. Then one miracle led to another, and provision came as he moved. When I finished the story, I looked at that young man and asked, “So what are you waiting for?”

You could see it hit him. The light came on. He didn’t need more pledges—he needed to obey. He wrote me several months later from the field and said, “Pastor, the moment I made the decision to go, everything I needed started coming in. More support came in during those few months than in the two years I’d spent trying to raise it.”

Provision follows obedience. Not the other way around.

We see this truth so clearly in John chapter 6, one of the most well-known miracles in the Gospels. Jesus fed a multitude—five thousand men, not counting women and children—with just five loaves and two fish. It was a supernatural multiplication—a financial miracle. But the miracle didn’t begin with bread. It began with the people’s decision to follow Jesus..

John 6:2 says, “A great multitude followed Him…” That’s the first ingredient. They followed Him.

They weren’t chasing provision. They were drawn by His presence. They didn’t know where they were going or how their needs would be met. They just knew they needed to be where Jesus was. And because they followed Him, Jesus took responsibility for them.

I vividly remember what this felt like when the Lord called Phyllis and me to Bible school. I didn’t have a financial cushion or a well-laid plan. In fact, I had just come through a very difficult season. Everything I had worked toward up to that point—career efforts, business ventures, plans of my own—had crumbled. We were starting over. I didn’t have credit, and I certainly didn’t have savings. What I did have was a word from God and a heart willing to obey it.

With just enough money to get there, we packed up our car, moved into student housing in Broken Arrow, and enrolled at Rhema. It wasn’t a glamorous start, but we were in the will of God, and that’s what mattered.

I worked as a plumber in the maintenance department to provide for our family. It was a far cry from a high-paying wage, yet we didn’t talk lack. We didn’t adopt the “Rhema diet” like some did—we refused to speak defeat or shortage. And do you know what happened? We never lacked. Not only did we make it through, but during that time, we saved more money than we ever had before up until that time.

People would come to our apartment when they ran out of groceries because they always knew they could eat with us. We experienced the result of following God–He provided every single need and gave us the joy of sharing that provision with others.

That year changed everything for us—not because of what we accomplished but because of what we learned: If God tells you to go, He’ll take care of you when you get there.

That’s how the kingdom works. We don’t follow provision—we follow the Provider. And when we do, the blessing comes looking for us. Deuteronomy 28 says, “All these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.” The increase doesn’t lead—it follows.

I want you to remember this: if you’re where God told you to be, doing what He told you to do, then He takes responsibility for you. You’re not out on your own—you’re on assignment.

Friend, I want to encourage you today—keep following. Whether God is calling you to step out or to stay steady where He’s planted you, obey Him. He knows what’s on the other side of your obedience. You don’t have to figure out how it’s all going to work. He already knows what He will do.

Thank you, Partner, for walking with us in this calling. Because of your faithfulness and prayers, we’re preaching the Word across the world. I’ve just seen the fruit of that in Italy and South Africa—and I know that same grace is working in your life too.

Let’s keep following. Not the money. Not the opportunities. Not what looks comfortable. Let’s continue to follow Jesus, because when we do, He’ll take care of everything else.

Here are a few pictures from our ministry time in South Africa. Thank you for helping us go into all the world!