Unexpected Preparation
I told you in my last post that God is moving us. I also told you that God began preparing me for that move a few months ago and I had no idea! Five months ago my Pastor, Steve, asked me to be a part of a message he was doing in church. He had heard me give my testimony and thought it would be a great addition to his message. I was thrilled and honored he would ask me and of course jumped at the chance to share with our church family.
The point of the message was that sometimes God asks us to move and we cannot see where or why, but we need to be willing to just take the first step. We used Abraham and his journey when God told him to "Go" but did not give him any indication of where. Abraham had to take the first step and trust God and when He did, only then was God's plan for him fulfilled.
Well, I thought I knew why God had me in this message with Steve, but boy oh boy, I had no clue what God was up to. You see before the morning I spoke in church with Steve, it appeared that God was moving me into a bigger ministry role right here. With confidence, I stepped up on that stage and told the whole church that I was ready for what God had next in my life. I said I was willing and excited to take the next step. We even had stepping stones on the stage and I physically stepped on each one to represent that I was willing to go.
Fast forward five months and I was not so willing to take that step. I even wrote to my Pastor and told him of how badly I was struggling with what the right thing to do was. Take this job my husband has been offered and move or stay here with our family and friends, the town we both grew up. Wouldn't it be more right to stay in this wonderful church we love, where ministry opportunities were becoming abundant? The minute I hit send on the email, a picture of me walking on those stepping stones flashed in my mind. I immediately wrote a second email to my Pastor and told him that he did not need to respond, he had already led me to the answer I needed.
God was preparing me to take this step...this step that is scary, uncertain, unfamiliar and sad and every time I become afraid or feel like the sadness will be too much...Abraham comes to mind. I love when I see God working...it is so comforting to know that He knew what I needed, long before I needed it...and He was ready to provide it.
Each day we need to hand our lives and situations over to Him. We need to trust and rely on Him fully. In my Bible study this week, we were given a verse with blanks to fill our names in, Jeremiah 32:40-42. With my name it reads, "I will make and everlasting covenant with Erin that I will not turn away from following her, to do her good; and I will put My (reverential) fear in Erin's heart...Yes, I will rejoice over her to do her good; and...I will...bring upon Erin all the good I have promised her." Wow! What a promise!
You can see the message Steve and I did here!
The point of the message was that sometimes God asks us to move and we cannot see where or why, but we need to be willing to just take the first step. We used Abraham and his journey when God told him to "Go" but did not give him any indication of where. Abraham had to take the first step and trust God and when He did, only then was God's plan for him fulfilled.
Well, I thought I knew why God had me in this message with Steve, but boy oh boy, I had no clue what God was up to. You see before the morning I spoke in church with Steve, it appeared that God was moving me into a bigger ministry role right here. With confidence, I stepped up on that stage and told the whole church that I was ready for what God had next in my life. I said I was willing and excited to take the next step. We even had stepping stones on the stage and I physically stepped on each one to represent that I was willing to go.
Fast forward five months and I was not so willing to take that step. I even wrote to my Pastor and told him of how badly I was struggling with what the right thing to do was. Take this job my husband has been offered and move or stay here with our family and friends, the town we both grew up. Wouldn't it be more right to stay in this wonderful church we love, where ministry opportunities were becoming abundant? The minute I hit send on the email, a picture of me walking on those stepping stones flashed in my mind. I immediately wrote a second email to my Pastor and told him that he did not need to respond, he had already led me to the answer I needed.
God was preparing me to take this step...this step that is scary, uncertain, unfamiliar and sad and every time I become afraid or feel like the sadness will be too much...Abraham comes to mind. I love when I see God working...it is so comforting to know that He knew what I needed, long before I needed it...and He was ready to provide it.
Each day we need to hand our lives and situations over to Him. We need to trust and rely on Him fully. In my Bible study this week, we were given a verse with blanks to fill our names in, Jeremiah 32:40-42. With my name it reads, "I will make and everlasting covenant with Erin that I will not turn away from following her, to do her good; and I will put My (reverential) fear in Erin's heart...Yes, I will rejoice over her to do her good; and...I will...bring upon Erin all the good I have promised her." Wow! What a promise!
You can see the message Steve and I did here!
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