Today Louis and I borrowed Phil's trailer and headed over to Ike and Cecile's house about 25km away. They are moving and offered me their dining room table, chairs, and stools. It is a gesture most appreciated and everything packed very neatly into the corner of Louis' garage. Louis said, "Isn't it amazing how God puts the pieces of the puzzle together?" To which I remarked, "He certainly puts them together in an interesting order." One would think the provision of a visa would be forthcoming, seeming to be much more critical than a table and chairs. But the clear provision of God through the saints is no small thing, and I praise God for His faithfulness.
When you put a puzzle together, you take it out of a box that has a picture on top. You see the end result before you begin. When I think about God's calling upon my life to preach and minister in AUS, I can't see the complete picture. Many of the puzzles I have worked over the years have beautiful landscapes with clearly defined portions: blue sky, white clouds, green grass, trees, animals. An exception is a puzzle I bought for Laura before she was my wife by M.C. Esher, the classic waterfall that seems to travel uphill. The major difficulty of this puzzle is the lack of colour. So much of the picture has the same dull hues and tones and everything seems to blend together. When I look at the wilderness experience where I find myself, it's hard to tell exactly where I am or where I fit in.
It seems a little on the wild side that Laura would have sold our kitchen table and chairs back home, and now in a garage in AUS sits a table and chairs set aside for our future use. When Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac his only son, the astute young man said, "Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Genesis 22:8 says, "And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together." Abraham built the altar, put the wood in order, and bound his son and laid him upon the wood. After he took the knife in his hand to slay Isaac, the Angel of the Lord told him to stop, saying that He now knew that Abraham feared God because he had not withheld his only son. Genesis 22:13-14 states, "Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. [14] And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The Lord it shall be provided."
God has provided abundantly for me, my Jehovah-Jireh. Shall I be as Isaac and say, "Here is a table and chairs, but where is the home I will use them in? Where is the visa? Where is the place I will dwell?" It think it better to be as Abraham and say, "The Lord Will Provide." There is no doubt in Abraham's words. "Will" does not mean "might." Abraham speaks with the certainty of faith. I say as the father of the demon-possessed child: "Lord I believe: help my unbelief!"
When picking up the trailer, little Andrew (Phil and Linda's son) asked me a question. He asked, "Do you wish you could go home to your family?" "No," I honestly answered, almost surprised by my immediate response. "But I wish they were here with me." I have a table and chairs, but I don't have my sons and wife by my side. God puts the puzzle together in His order and in His time. As Corrie ten Boom used to say, we only see the back side of the embroidery. God sees from the vantage point of eternity and knows what He is doing. We see a random mix of color and say, "What beauty could possibly come from that?" Eccles. 3:11 says, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end."
Most people start with the border when putting a puzzle together. It feels like the puzzle of my life has been flipped upside down, and all I can see is the grainy cardboard. In the middle of the table lies two pieces fitted together, and no border in sight. God will provide all that I need in His time. I long for the day when Jesus will say to me, "Now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your life, your only life, from Me." Because of Christ's sacrificial payment I have a life to live. As the song says, "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. Though none go with me, still I will follow. No turning back, no turning back."
When you put a puzzle together, you take it out of a box that has a picture on top. You see the end result before you begin. When I think about God's calling upon my life to preach and minister in AUS, I can't see the complete picture. Many of the puzzles I have worked over the years have beautiful landscapes with clearly defined portions: blue sky, white clouds, green grass, trees, animals. An exception is a puzzle I bought for Laura before she was my wife by M.C. Esher, the classic waterfall that seems to travel uphill. The major difficulty of this puzzle is the lack of colour. So much of the picture has the same dull hues and tones and everything seems to blend together. When I look at the wilderness experience where I find myself, it's hard to tell exactly where I am or where I fit in.
It seems a little on the wild side that Laura would have sold our kitchen table and chairs back home, and now in a garage in AUS sits a table and chairs set aside for our future use. When Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac his only son, the astute young man said, "Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Genesis 22:8 says, "And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together." Abraham built the altar, put the wood in order, and bound his son and laid him upon the wood. After he took the knife in his hand to slay Isaac, the Angel of the Lord told him to stop, saying that He now knew that Abraham feared God because he had not withheld his only son. Genesis 22:13-14 states, "Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. [14] And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The Lord it shall be provided."
God has provided abundantly for me, my Jehovah-Jireh. Shall I be as Isaac and say, "Here is a table and chairs, but where is the home I will use them in? Where is the visa? Where is the place I will dwell?" It think it better to be as Abraham and say, "The Lord Will Provide." There is no doubt in Abraham's words. "Will" does not mean "might." Abraham speaks with the certainty of faith. I say as the father of the demon-possessed child: "Lord I believe: help my unbelief!"
When picking up the trailer, little Andrew (Phil and Linda's son) asked me a question. He asked, "Do you wish you could go home to your family?" "No," I honestly answered, almost surprised by my immediate response. "But I wish they were here with me." I have a table and chairs, but I don't have my sons and wife by my side. God puts the puzzle together in His order and in His time. As Corrie ten Boom used to say, we only see the back side of the embroidery. God sees from the vantage point of eternity and knows what He is doing. We see a random mix of color and say, "What beauty could possibly come from that?" Eccles. 3:11 says, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end."
Most people start with the border when putting a puzzle together. It feels like the puzzle of my life has been flipped upside down, and all I can see is the grainy cardboard. In the middle of the table lies two pieces fitted together, and no border in sight. God will provide all that I need in His time. I long for the day when Jesus will say to me, "Now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your life, your only life, from Me." Because of Christ's sacrificial payment I have a life to live. As the song says, "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. Though none go with me, still I will follow. No turning back, no turning back."
Actually, I think you do have the border; the Father is surrounding you with something more sturdy than mere cardboard: His presence. His love. His provision. You do well to praise Him.
ReplyDeleteI hope the rest of the pieces come together for you all very soon - yet watching it fall into place is a marvel. It's beautiful to see how God is working in you, in your family, in your calling.
Praise Him