Jesus take the wheel: week 2 — Julita Kok

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Episode 2 in a weekly series in which music industry personality and Worship South Africa exco member Julita Kok reports back on a recent SA road trip in which she handed the steering wheel over to Jesus

I have journeyed with God many times (if one can be so arrogant as to say this) and I have come to know Him as a very interesting and unpredictable companion. In fact, the thing you can be most certain of when traveling with God, is the fact that He is unpredictable and you just never know what is about to happen.

I mean, I am in events.  This means that I am used to big crowds.  I can speak in front of thousands of people and it does not scare me.  So one would think that this is where God will use me.  Crowds.  I have the experience, confidence and the track record.  But no, not Him.  He takes you out of your comfort zone and places you there where you have to rely on Him and not your skill set and capabilities.  Because He needs you to grow into the fullness of who He made you to be. This is love. Sure does not feel like it, but it is. His fullness lies beyond what you can comprehend or what you know and therefore, if you allow Him to use you as He knows best, you will come to realise that there is so much more available to you than you have ever imagined.

And this is what I see time and time again on my journeys with Him.

On this recent journey, He told me to visit with families and individuals in their homes. He told me to just “kuier”.  And “kuier” I did.  No crowds. No big speeches. Just visiting around the table talking on the goodness of God. One of the places God sent me to was Madwaleni. Yes, I had also never heard of it before God put it on my  itinerary. It is in the Transkei, truly in the middle of the most beautiful nowhere, next to the Wild Coast. Wow, the beauty of that place is just breathtaking.  

I always say that there is no courage without fear. I had to take up a lot of courage to travel those roads. It is dirt roads with animals and potholes and no directions whatsoever and NO GPS!!! Oh my, and my GPS tannie is my best friend on these travels, but in the Transkei she is no friend at all. Firstly there is no cellphone reception and no record on Google of all these small little roads leading to only -the-residents-know-where. 

So on my way to Madwaleni, I get lost and the more I ask the locals how to get to Madwaleni Hospital (where I would stay for the weekend), the more they make gestures with their arms and hands and it leads me to nowhere.  And I suddenly realise….they walk everywhere. They know the foot paths and are directing me according to the paths and not the roads. They do not have cars and do not travel the roads. And once I understood their way of thinking, I was able to reach my destination. (This alone is a sermon in itself of course.)

Madwaleni Hospital is a government hospital and it looks like one. The most beautiful surroundings, Transkei mountains and valleys, but the buildings have not been maintained and it truly looks like pictures we see of Africa falling apart. I have never met the doctor and his wife, but it is an instant love relationship. They feel like home and very soon we have great conversations going.

And then comes God. Can I just say once again how marvellous He is!! He knows every single one of us. He knows EVERYTHING about us. Never underestimate the intimacy with which He knows you.  As I sit there talking about immortality (I am speaking to a doctor with science and God as his reference…..was soooo interesting) and truly enjoying the conversation, God tells me to share some music with the doctor’s wife. So for two hours, I play her music. And I discuss the music with her. I am in the music industry and music is one of my love relationships. So to talk music for two hours is pure joy. We then have supper and the night ends on a very satisfying note. But……this God of ours!! How I love Him. Unpredictable.

Next morning the wife asks me if she can show me something. So we go into their lounge and she takes out a guitar. It totally surprises me. Never knew they even had one. And she says: “It is the first time in 7 years I have picked up my guitar again and the first time in 11 years I wrote a song again. I would like to play you the song.” I sit there, used to the crème de la crème of South African talent and beyond even and I witness what God has just birthed. In Madwaleni, truly in the middle of nowhere, I discover talent and skill and a pure heart that simply takes my breath away. Her voice, her songwriting, her skill on the guitar…..all of it. She received it all. But she buried it. And here comes God and all He says to me is….”Julita, play her some songs”.  He knew!! He knew!!! I did not have to preach a big sermon. Did not have to bring her a mind-blowing revelation. I only needed to stir her heart (without me knowing it….but He did).

Since I have been with them, she has written a few songs. We registered her with all the collecting societies. She is now “official”. She loves God with all her heart and wants to honour Him with her life and talents. Who would have thought that I would discover these jewels in the Wild Coast? Should these jewels of people not be in our big cities where everybody knows about them? NO. As long as He knows, He will connect. I was sent all the way out there (and let me tell you, it was quite nerve wracking travelling there), but it was so worth it for more than one reason. 

God has His people everywhere. And He knows about them. And He believes in the dreams He has for them. And if that dream is about to die, He will keep it alive even if He has to send someone out to you, travelling with a car on gravel roads, getting lost, taking courage when fear slips in, but He will see to it that you get to that place He has set apart for you.

Many things happened at Madwaleni and I will share some more next time, but the gold I took away from here was this couple and new friendships and the knowledge of knowing that there is a Living God looking out for us. He sees us. He knows us. He loves us and He fights for us. We will become who He intended us to be for He is totally in control. All I had to do was “kuier”.  No effort in that. No skil lset in that. No qualifications in that. Just “Kuier”.  And I did.

I want to tell you that God is taking His Gospel to the people again. Individuals. Marketplace, homes, streets. While the world is seeking big solutions, Jesus is meeting people at the well. And these are the people who will change the world for they have met Him and they know His truth.  And we all know that the truth sets us free.

I am happy to be travelling with Him like this. From home to home only sharing about the goodness of God. For indeed I can say, He is a good, good, God.