Nobody Said It Was Easy
I don't like change, Jordan has a hard head (he'll admit to that) and we loved Beulah.
Things seemed to be going so well in our home of nine years, the first call Jordan took upon graduating with a degree in youth ministry. We loved the people in our church and in our community. Our kids, little though they were, had great friends in our neighborhood and at church. Both Jordan and I had been blessed and encouraged through the different ministry groups that we served with. We even had the exciting opportunity to see a dream fulfilled by helping bring a Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack to our community! Though we were far from our parents and siblings, members of our church family filled our hearts and our family's lives with an unmatched, deep love. Beulah was far from perfect, but it was home and we certainly weren't looking to leave it.
And yet, we couldn't deny or ignore the fact that it seemed like the Lord was calling us to accept the call to Ishpeming. We spent months in prayer, trying to determine if this "inquiry" was something we should pursue further. Upon officially receiving the call, we spent another month in prayer, wrestling with the Lord, trying to determine if this really was where He was leading us, praying that He would make it clear to us.
We received the confirmation we had been praying for; and though we felt at peace with the decision to move, it was still difficult and we were still sad to leave our home and our Beulah family.
Even so, amidst the sadness, the preparations to move began. We did strange adult-ing things, like calling a realtor to help us sell our house in Beulah and another one in Ishpeming to help us find a house there. We slowly started packing, which was quite a different experience than I had when I moved to Beulah as a 21-year-old newlywed. During this time, we read an article in a publication sent out from our denominations seminary and Bible School. In it, a married seminary student shared how the Lord had been working in his call to attend seminary. In the span of 15 minutes, he found out he was accepted to seminary, offered a job, and granted seminary housing. His own home sold in that same hour. (I think I've got those times correct; but I may be a bit off. Baby brain plus jealousy can distort things sometimes.) It was an incredible testimony to God's provision and His goodness-- and it was far to easy to take that testimony and make it standard, across the board, solid truth that will happen to anyone who is obedient to the call of God.
Our own story is quite different. Our home was on the market for six and a half months before it sold. It's been six months since we moved to Ishpeming and we are still freeloading at Jordan's parents house as we wait for a home of our own.
It's been easy in the midst of this waiting (which is very, very hard to do) to not equate God's call with God's blessing. Because He has called us here and because we have been obedient, doesn't that mean our way should be paved with gold? That everything should easily, seamlessly, beautifully fall into place? I'm not sure if that's a pervasive Christian mentality or just my own skewed thinking, but the Lord has quickly knocked that idol off its pedestal as He reminds me who He is.
No, God's call does not equate material blessings. But being faithful to God's call does equate God's eternal blessings, in those sweet, long-sought after words, "'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your Master.'" (Matthew 25:21)
Things seemed to be going so well in our home of nine years, the first call Jordan took upon graduating with a degree in youth ministry. We loved the people in our church and in our community. Our kids, little though they were, had great friends in our neighborhood and at church. Both Jordan and I had been blessed and encouraged through the different ministry groups that we served with. We even had the exciting opportunity to see a dream fulfilled by helping bring a Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack to our community! Though we were far from our parents and siblings, members of our church family filled our hearts and our family's lives with an unmatched, deep love. Beulah was far from perfect, but it was home and we certainly weren't looking to leave it.
And yet, we couldn't deny or ignore the fact that it seemed like the Lord was calling us to accept the call to Ishpeming. We spent months in prayer, trying to determine if this "inquiry" was something we should pursue further. Upon officially receiving the call, we spent another month in prayer, wrestling with the Lord, trying to determine if this really was where He was leading us, praying that He would make it clear to us.
We received the confirmation we had been praying for; and though we felt at peace with the decision to move, it was still difficult and we were still sad to leave our home and our Beulah family.
Even so, amidst the sadness, the preparations to move began. We did strange adult-ing things, like calling a realtor to help us sell our house in Beulah and another one in Ishpeming to help us find a house there. We slowly started packing, which was quite a different experience than I had when I moved to Beulah as a 21-year-old newlywed. During this time, we read an article in a publication sent out from our denominations seminary and Bible School. In it, a married seminary student shared how the Lord had been working in his call to attend seminary. In the span of 15 minutes, he found out he was accepted to seminary, offered a job, and granted seminary housing. His own home sold in that same hour. (I think I've got those times correct; but I may be a bit off. Baby brain plus jealousy can distort things sometimes.) It was an incredible testimony to God's provision and His goodness-- and it was far to easy to take that testimony and make it standard, across the board, solid truth that will happen to anyone who is obedient to the call of God.
Our own story is quite different. Our home was on the market for six and a half months before it sold. It's been six months since we moved to Ishpeming and we are still freeloading at Jordan's parents house as we wait for a home of our own.
It's been easy in the midst of this waiting (which is very, very hard to do) to not equate God's call with God's blessing. Because He has called us here and because we have been obedient, doesn't that mean our way should be paved with gold? That everything should easily, seamlessly, beautifully fall into place? I'm not sure if that's a pervasive Christian mentality or just my own skewed thinking, but the Lord has quickly knocked that idol off its pedestal as He reminds me who He is.
Yes, He is a good God. Yes, He is the God who provides. Yes, He is the God who calls.
But He is not a God who owes us anything nor promises that the way will be easy, seamless and pain-free.When the LORD called Jeremiah as a prophet to the people Israel, He told Jeremiah that the people would not listen to Him (Jeremiah 7:27). Jeremiah is known as the "weeping prophet" because of the heavy burden he carried, both in his heart for the people and in the word he was called to share. Jesus told His disciples that they would have trouble in this world (John 16:33); nowhere did He promise them easy-going if only they were obedient to Him.
No, God's call does not equate material blessings. But being faithful to God's call does equate God's eternal blessings, in those sweet, long-sought after words, "'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your Master.'" (Matthew 25:21)
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