The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him… – Genesis 12:1-4a, NIV
I have been wanting to write something now for a couple of months but just couldn’t get the words. Partly because what I wanted to write about is where our ministry is headed and right now we have no clear idea. Partly because I just haven’t really focused on this (and that may be why we have no clear idea). I sat down this morning and thought about the spiritual, “Children, Go Where I Sent Thee” and it fits with the call of Abraham above.
There have been many times that I have quoted that to Kathy as we face a decision about the future. She (and I to be honest) would really to know where we are headed when we “go” – roadmap, stops along the way, things to avoid, all the good stuff. God doesn’t seem to work that way. He just calls us to go. And like Isaiah, we say “Here I am, Lord, send me”.
Even before we picked up and moved to Athens earlier this year, we knew there were some changes in store for us and our ministry. The signs have been there and they have come together to show us that we are called for a purposed – somewhat beyond our understanding – what we had laid out for our future is not necessarily what God has in mind. How do we handle that? We go where He sends us.
Now God hasn’t told us that we would become a great nation or our names would be great, but I do believe He is blessing us and will bless us for our going. We are called to bless and be blessing to others, wherever we are. All the pieces are not in place yet and we may not see the end results – much like Abraham, we may be setting in motion things far beyond our lifetimes. Yet we go.
Is it hard? Yes. I, for one, am not naturally a patient person – and my beloved wife is not much better in waiting on God’s plans. We KNOW that He has called, we have responded and as of yet, we don’t know why we are really here. So we do what seems best and allow Him to direct the steps. And in the midst of this, we can be content – which is amazing in itself. My dad recently told me that I was the most contented that he had seen me in quite a while. I guess like Paul, I have learned to be content – not necessarily satisfied and not giving up – but content with the waiting and enjoying what we are learning as we wait.
We have made new connections here in the Athens area and we trust that God will use all of these for the work that He has planned for us and for the furthering of His Kingdom. Pray that we are faithful in our journeying.
Be well,
Steve