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| Ross Lake in North Cascades National Park. |
So what was the last 5 years in Everett about? Why would God call our family from a place where we had friends, family, a career path, and a great church, to move to a spot over 2,000 miles away? Why would God lead us to a place where we literally did not know a single person? And why, then, after that same family gets rooted in the community, establishes relationships, and experiences ministry impact, would God send the family right back to where they originally came from? It doesn't make sense at all if you just look to the surface of things, but God's ways are not our ways and you always need to look deeper at things to get even an inkling of what God is doing. I will attempt to do that here, although I know it is not a comprehensive look at all that God has done or is doing now.
God is always preparing you for the next thing He has in mind for you. Circumstances now are used to shape you for what you will face later. If you and I didn't have that, we would not do well with what is coming. If you want a plant to grow and bloom, you plant it in good soil, feed it, water it, and make sure it is not attacked by bugs. In a way, the Lord does things in much the same manner.
In my early posts I shared a lot about what God was doing in my life at the time of our call to Everett. I had thoughts and attitudes about what God would do with us here. I really believed after a while that He was going to use us to plant a church here and that it would grow and flourish. I never really had a good idea on how much, but I just assumed it would happen. Instead, we were associated with one church that grew a bit while we were there and out of that time we formed deep relationships with some wonderful people. Then we left to start Purpose Church and the other church eventually died later the following year. Then three years later Purpose Church died as well, and we found ourselves working with a small church in downtown Everett. Church ministry did not work out at all like I thought it would.
And then there is ministry itself. When we first got here I spent a lot of time on the streets praying and attempting to talk to people about Jesus. I thought that perhaps this would grow into something vibrant as well. The more I did that, the more discoveries I made about homelessness and the complexity of the issue. I had friendly encounters on the streets with people who were receptive to hearing about Jesus, and I had encounters with people who became angry and almost violent at the mention of His name. I spoke to people who seemed like regular people, others who had mental illness, and still others who were high on hard drugs. I no longer look at street ministry and the homeless crisis the same way.
Our family went from living in the country in the Houston area to living in the middle of a pretty vibrant city, experiencing all of the things that come with living in the city. We have seen and experienced many things that I never even considered we would see or experience. We lived in a community with many people who have an idea of God but no real relationship with Him and no interest to cultivate one. We have seen parades and protests, homeless and affluent, building and burning, life and death, and it all occurred within a short distance from our own home. All the while Amanda and I took our individual roles as workers in the community, she in PTA and my own as a school administrator, and went about our work with an eye on how Jesus would use those things. And use those things He did, just not in the ways we would have expected!
I have been reviewing all of these things since March 19th, wondering what it was all about. Why did God move us here and why would He move us back? As I have thought about these things I was reminded of the Apostle Paul and what the Lord did to redirect his life from what it was to what it should be. Paul outlines it for us in Galatians chapter 1:11-12; 16-18.
11 Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. 12 I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.[d]
When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being.[f] 17 Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus.
18 Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter,[g] and I stayed with him for fifteen days.
Most people just blow right by some important details in this account which I want to draw your attention to. Did you notice how long Paul was in the desert of Arabia? Three full years. This happened after he met Jesus for the first time on his way to Damascus and after he had recovered his sight. It would have made a lot of sense to send this passionate and driven man right into ministry. Surely his gifts would be used in a great way, immediately! But the Lord's ways are not our ways, so instead He pulled Paul into obscurity and isolation for 3 full years before that other stuff started. Think back to what you were doing 3 years ago on this date and you'll get some context as to how long of a period of time that is to be by yourself.
And it doesn't stop there in the Bible. Moses also had to wait, but his wait was much longer and probably very painful. He waited a full 40 years from the time he was driven out of Egypt to the time he came back. During that 40 years he tended his father in law's sheep in the desert and likely considered everyday what might have been. He had been well-positioned in the family of Pharaoh and from a human perspective it would have made a lot of sense for him to eventually be in a position of leadership over a lot of people. Surely God will make it happen this way! It makes sense! And yet, God didn't do it that way, instead making Moses wait. And yet the Moses who came out of the desert to confront Pharaoh was not the same Moses who left Egypt 40 years before.
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| The Oyster Dome is a high trail that overlooks Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. People hang glide from this spot. |
He has had me pray more, read more scripture, meditate on scripture more, analyze what is going on around me to see what He's doing in my life, and generally has led me closer to himself. So many times He allowed me to go out on the streets of Everett thinking that I would be able to share my faith and bring people to the Lord, and in those times I wouldn't run into a single person! But I prayed a lot during those times. Jesus walked side by side with me as I prayed to encounter people, prayed for our family and for the people of Everett, and generally got to know the Lord better. And the Lord needed to pull me from the comfortable and the familiar so He could do this work in my life. I'm not the same person who left 5 years ago, and praise God for that!
What about you?
Do you find yourself in the middle of your life's circumstances wondering what it is all about? Do you look back on a time in your life where God led you to a different job, church, ministry, or even another land and you wonder why He did all of that? You might be drawn into negative and cynical thinking due to things not working out like you thought they would. I would encourage you to look at the big picture for perspective. Prayerfully consider the thoughts and attitudes you previously had that were changed as a result of that time. Consider the relationships you were able to form and cultivate that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. And especially consider how that time impacted your walk with the Lord.If you examine your life and realize you have distanced from the Lord as a result of the circumstances He has put you through, go back to Him! Talk to Him about your fears, your frustrations, your cares, and ask Him for perspective on what He is doing. He may not explain to you what everything was about, but it is likely the curtain will get pulled back enough for you to gain insight into His work in your life. But go to Him in prayer!
Remember, God is keenly interested in relationship with you and me. And out of that relationship many wonderful things can come out of you, which is the way it is supposed to be. That is why Jesus told the woman at the well that drinking from him would give her living water that would turn into a bubbling spring within her. Springs provide a continual supply of water that does not stop, and they overflow onto a lot of the terrain around them. That living water comes from Jesus and quenches our spiritual thirst and also can overflow onto everyone around us. But it begins and ends in relationship to Jesus.
What might God be doing in you through this period in your life?
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