Limitless

 A sidewalk on Grand Avenue Park in Everett as the sun sets.  Once again this picture is quite symbolic of where we are now.  The compass represents the fact that we could literally go in any direction at this moment.  Which direction will the Lord take us?

I'm finally getting to enjoy a quieter season of life while off work for a couple of weeks on top of backing out of leadership at EFC.  We're now back to waiting on God, which is not a bad place to be except if you are wired like I am.  That of course is exactly why God has me wait so often, to remind me of His sovereignty in my life and over everything around me.  He doesn't need me to make some effort on my own apart from Him, because it will fail and will exhaust me.  He didn't need the Israelites to take the Promised Land either.  In fact, He set it up so that they would fail if they tried to do it on their own, and fail they did!

I feel over the last few weeks that God has been challenging me to ask Him for things that are huge for this new ministry we are beginning.  Things that are God-sized and not man-sized.  Things that will fail if only I am in it but will prosper if only He is in it.  Things that will show our community that there is a living God, only one, and that He cares for them.

Isaiah 7:10-14New Living Translation (NLT)

The Sign of Immanuel

¹⁰ Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz: ¹¹ “Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.^[a]”

¹² But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.”
¹³ Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? ¹⁴ All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin^[b] will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

My main problem has been determining what I should ask of the Lord.  Don't get me wrong, I never believe we should treat Him like some kind of glorified genie.  God wants a relationship with us first, and there are times when He glorifies himself by taking very visible actions that remind us that He is God!

The Seattle Space Needle reflected in the EMP Museum in downtown Seattle.

One of my big concerns over the last month has been in recruiting leaders to come work with our new church.  Immediate needs include a children's pastor and a worship leader, but we also need a few families to uproot themselves and come to work with us here, discipling people along the way as they work and live life here.  So far we have had no individuals drop out of the sky or show up on our doorstep, so it is easy for doubt to creep in and begin thinking that it won't happen.  This week during my doubts God showed me how big He really is.

I was at work this Thursday and had gone to meet with a friend over lunch.  Upon returning I saw a post-it note on my computer with a Houston phone number on it and a name I'd never seen.  It simply said "calling from Houston-ask me about this."  I turned to my coworker to inquire about it, and her eyes lit up.  

"I felt like I was talking to you!", she said.  "This person on the phone said she lives in Houston and feels 'called' to come to Everett.  She's never been here and doesn't know anyone who lives here.  She has questions about enrolling her kids in school and I figured who better to tell her about that than you!"

I was really curious at this point so I took my personal cell phone with me to make a call in one of our meeting rooms.  When the woman picked up, I explained that I worked for Everett Public Schools and was returning her call regarding enrolling her children in school.  She then proceeded to explain that she felt "called" to come to Everett.  Taking a risk, I stopped her and asked "please elaborate for me.  What do you mean you feel called?"

She then explained that God had shown her family that they were supposed to move to Everett.  She wasn't sure why, but proceeded to name multiple things that had told her that God was in it.  I listened and then had an opportunity to tell her that the exact thing had happened to us 13 months ago, and that we'd come to be church planters in Everett.  She admitted this was not why she was coming to Everett, but was intrigued by the idea and admitted she had no idea about the spiritual darkness here in the Pacific Northwest.  I made sure she had my number so she could call back with further questions and we parted ways.

Now here's the part where God taught me a lesson.  In talking to my colleagues who have desks around me, this initial phone call had been bounced around a lot.  The woman had originally called our main number.  The normal receptionist was on a break so the fill-in person routed the call to the proper person, who also was not at her desk.  So the call came back to the receptionist's desk who, now confused, routed it to a person in my area of the building.  However, this person, while available, didn't have the information the woman needed and forwarded the call to someone in my department.  At that point, after she heard the story, she insisted that the woman talk to me.  I was the 5th desk this call had been routed to.

I have no idea whether we will encounter this family in the future or not, and that's actually not the point.  What I took from this was that God was giving me a personal tutorial on sovereignty.  I have believed for too long that I needed to initiate things like this, reach out to the right people, and make things happen.  

I heard God say, "Paul, that call was randomly routed 4 times before it came to you, and I made that happen.  It was easy, and it was planned.  I am aware of what you need and am in control.  You don't need to worry." 

 2 Kings 6:13-17New Living Translation (NLT)

¹³ “Go and find out where he is,” the king commanded, “so I can send troops to seize him.”
And the report came back: “Elisha is at Dothan.” ¹⁴ So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city.
¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha.
¹⁶ “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” ¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

I shouldn't be surprised by this, but still I am.  I'm amazed at what God can do.  There is no one like Him.  We are resolved to continue praying over the future and leaving it to Him.

 A snowy scene near Stevens Pass in the Cascade Mountain range.