Hasn't the LORD Been Good?

Do you ever sit back in awe of the things God has done in your life?  I remember going to a youth camp and pastor Chuck Smith led us all in a song that I learned over the course of the days we spent there:  "Hasn't the LORD been good to us?  Hasn't the LORD been good?  He's done all the things that He said He would.  Hasn't the LORD been good?  So love God, hate sin, reckon the old man dead.  Love God, hate sin, and by His Spirit be led."  I want to testify that God is good and has been so good towards me.  He has been true to His Word and has never left or forsaken me.  As I think back through the long road we have traveled together, I am absolutely amazed and struck with how awesome God is.

God has done things in my life that I never imagined.  Even ten years ago I would never have imagined God would have called me to be a pastor, took me out of my trade, brought me into the ministry, led me and my family to sell our home, and moved us to Australia for the purpose of pastoring a church.  All these steps in my life were unknown to me even as I moved towards them.  But God knew.  Along the way He opened my eyes to the fact that His hand was upon my life, guiding and leading me to undertake things I never thought possible.

I remember working in the back yard of my new house and praying.  God said clear as anything:  "You will preach, and you will be sent."  At the time I had no aspiration to be a pastor or preacher.  I honestly did not want to be a pastor, and I didn't want to go anywhere!  I was happy; I was comfortable.  I was active in a church leading a home fellowship and serving in various ministries.  It began with willingness, and God caused willingness to give birth to desire.  I finally embrace the idea that God had called me to be a pastor and to teach His Word.  But how would this happen?  When?  Then the waiting began.  Had God not divinely revealed His plan concerning the call to pastoral work, I would not have needed to wait on God.  It seems the more He reveals to us, the more we are called to wait in expectant anticipation of His answer.  Instead of fretting or worrying about the details, God equips us to place our situation in His hands, content and at rest.

Last night I read chapters of the Luke account which highlighted events of the life of Jesus Christ.  After Jesus was baptised by John to fulfill all righteousness, Luke 2:23 tells us that Christ was about 30 years old when He began His public ministry in Israel.  I remember well conversations Laura and I had about me quitting my trade of 10 years and entering into full-time ministry at our church.  We knew that if I were to quit my job and be supported by the church, my wages would be diminished to the point we might have to sell our home.  It was one thing to give up foreman status, benefits, and wages:  it was a more difficult choice to part with the house we had renovated.  But God brought us to a point we were able to give our home into His control.  We were willing to step through the door if and when our church invited us into the ministry.  The day finally came!  Though my wages were nearly halved, God enabled us to keep our house by supplying students who rented a room.  God was gracious and good to supply all our needs.

Consider the grace of God!  I put in a written notice and left the trade for the ministry.  I remember my last day at work, carting all my tools out of Nassco and handing in my identification badge.  It was a surreal moment.  But the most surreal moment of all occurred when I walked up to the church building for the start of my second career.  Would you believe that my first day of work at church, a Monday, just happened to be my 30th birthday?  When I read that passage last night about Jesus entering public ministry at the age of 30, it sent a thrill through my heart as I thought back.  God had plans for Jesus long before He entered the public eye, and He has plans for you and me.  We cannot see the big picture with our limited sight and little faith, but we can know God is working to accomplish the plans that concern each one of us.  God has not forgotten you.  He certainly remembers His promises and will be faithful to fulfill His Word.  1 Corinthians 15:58 says, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

Instead of lamenting what God has yet to do, consider the wonderful things God has already done.  It will lift the clouds of doubt as the Son shines through.  Hasn't the LORD been good to us?