"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations ."
Isaiah 61:10-11
What God has promised He is able to perform. Our intellect can get in the way of trusting the Word of the LORD. When my children were in preschool, they learned how plants grow from seeds. They wrapped dried beans in a wet paper towel sealed in a Ziploc bag. After placing the bag in a sunny spot, with childlike enthusiasm they couldn't wait until the first tender shoots peeked out from those seemingly dead, dry beans. When we grow plants from seeds as adults, we carefully amend and prep the soil, plant certain seeds in certain seasons, properly space the seeds, regulate the depth, fertilize, and build a fence. We have sprays for pests, various plant food, and consider all the work of weeding and irrigation. Though the process of growing beans is the same for either children or adults, the knowledge we gain by adulthood makes things so difficult!
This is why God desires we have faith like a child. A child does not look at all the hindrances of growing a plant because his mind is fixed on the surety of the process: plant a seed in the ground, add a little water and sunlight - and he knows a plant will grow. This is how we ought to be when God gives us His Word. We ought not look at the obstacles which seem to contradict God's Word, but consider the character of God who speaks. He will never lie, mislead, or be incorrect. If God says He will make righteousness and praise spring forth to God before all the nations, He will do so! Nothing is too hard for our God.
When God told me in 2002, "You shall preach, and you shall be sent," it seemed very unlikely. I wondered how such a thing could come to pass. God used a quote from Spurgeon's from Lectures to My Students to encouraged me to believe His word spoken to my heart: "Neptune had long been shining before he was discovered and named; and you and I brethren, may remain unknown for years, and possible the world may never discover us; but I trust that our influence, like that of Neptune, will be felt and recognized, whether we are seen of men, or only shine in solitary splendour to the glory of God." Soon after I received a call from my pastor who invited me to teach a home fellowship. Then in 2005 I came on staff at Calvary Chapel El Cajon and was ordained as a minister in 2006! I had preached, but I had not yet been sent.
It was in 2005 when God placed a desire in my heart to pray for the east side of Australia. Every morning in my prayers I would turn my face towards Australia! Little did I know at the time that He would not only open a door to visit the east side of Australia in 2009, but I would be offered a pastoral job at Calvary Chapel Sydney in 2010! Yesterday my wife and I had a meeting with a pastor to discuss our vision for the fellowship in Sydney. At the end of the meeting, he prayed for us. As he prayed, I was blessed beyond measure by what was said, which was something to the effect of: "Thank you Jesus for sending Ben and Laura to this church at this time." My mind flashed back to words that God has impressed upon my heart more than once. In front of the Castle Towers in Castle Hill, there is a large Australian flag. As I waited at the light and watched the flag wave in the breeze, God encouraged me with the words, "I will establish you." It is God who will establish, and it is God who has sent us. His prayer only confirmed it was Jesus Christ Himself who had sent us!
If it was a church fellowship or a group of elders who sent our family to a foreign field, I could doubt their judgment. But if it is God who has sent me, He can certainly fulfill His will concerning me. If God says He will establish, He will do it! He has already fulfilled His word spoken in 2002: "You will preach and you will be sent." Won't He establish us as well? Because God's Word endures forever, it is like good seed that will never be without fruit. It will never return to Him void, but always accomplish what He intends. Isaiah 55:9-11: "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."
What God says He will do! Let us purpose in our hearts to believe God no matter what. Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to Him for righteousness. Joshua 21:45 is as true today as it was then: "Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass." Do we live our lives like this is true?
Thank you for this glorious reminder!
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