I wrote the following the morning of July 1, almost a month ago. The thoughts still ring true, although the faith God has been granting and growing is being tested and tried, even in the last day or so. Still, God is good. He is kind and merciful, and through His sovereign will He sanctifies us, to one day complete His work in us.
I’m struck, this morning, by how much our world is changing. Sure, the global society is evolving, but I’m not thinking that big. Andrea and I are going through massive shifts in thought and focus, and if I let it, it will overwhelm me.
In a month, we’ll be a matter of days from flying to South Asia, exploring what may, if the Lord allows, become our new home for at least 2 years. I’ve lived in our current house for 6 years, in the Nashville area for 17 – almost as long as I lived in the home in which I grew up. I’ve been in my current job for almost 9 years.
This month marks massive changes in our finances. We’ve been blessed to avoid the downturn in the market until now, but it has finally trickled down to us. The budget we’ve been working on for the last 3 months is irrelevant now, but the basic principles we’ve been learning and trying to apply definitely come into play.
Again, if the Lord allows, when the time comes to move, we’ll be moving freely – debt-free for the first time in our marriage, for the first time in years for either of us.
These are the things that play in the background, like shadows cast by a campfire. And here is what blazes before me – words from Joshua and the Psalms:
Joshua 1:5bJust as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Psalm 128:1 Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
The first is God’s calling to Joshua, just as Israel is ready to cross the Jordan River. Moses is dead, and Joshua is being called to lead his people into the land God has promised them – a partial fulfillment of a covenant spanning centuries. And it feels like we are in a season like this. I am haunted by doubts – whispers that I am not up to this task, that this is a fool’s errand. Yet deeper in (or maybe “further up, and further in”), a stronger voice calls out, that God knows me, created me, grows me. That this is a season of fulfillment, of calling, of redemption, of being made new. So I strive to submit to verse 9, to remember my calling, to remember that God is with us, and will not forsake us, and the Spirit enables us to be strong, to be courageous.
The second and third are from the Psalms of Ascent, sung by Israel as they journeyed to Jerusalem to worship. There is both comfort and warning in Psalm 127. While the warning is apparent, the comfort is in converse: if the Lord builds the house, if the Lord watches the city, then work and watch are not in vain. The Lord’s blessing and kindness brings rest, peace, and fulfillment. This is reflected in Psalm 128 – the blessing for those who fear the Lord. This is our calling, in this season: to fear the Lord, to not be anxious, to be confident in the work the Lord is doing, and has done over the past 28 and 35 years.