Alaska, south of Anchorage, near the Kenai Penninsula Somehow those words create a sense of uneasiness when the season is free and easy. During those seasons, testing is something I infrequently pray for -- aside from those times of intense desire to go deeper with the Lord - after He has cleverly drawn back, in order to lure me closer. In those moments of excruciating need for more of Him, I'll pray the "do what ever it takes" prayer, then hang on tight. But when everything seems to be going just fine, the testing of my faith is something I'd rather do without. However, today I read in an Expository Commentary on John "faith must be tested" - and I nearly jumped for joy. The words provided a ton of consolation to my spirit. After a while in the storm, I start to wonder if God is up to something else - I've searched my heart for any unconfessed sin... done everything I know to do in that area. Our employment situation has caused me to wonder if we could be reaping a harvest from bad seed sown in our business - but my most honest scrutiny consistently proves our business ethics above suspicion or reproach. We've wondered if we heard God wrong about selling the company - putting ourselves out of work in a terrible economy with record unemployment rates.... But after praying, fasting, seeking and awaiting confirmation - if God let us take a wrong turn, I don't know enough about God to get out of bed in the morning. The God I know doesn't try to conceal His will from those who are earnestly seeking it and Him. So we believe that God did indeed lead us to this place. We believe we walked here in obedience. We just expected different scenery when we arrived.... So this morning, when I read the words "faith must be tested" my spirit shouted YES! This is a test... this is only a test... if it were a real emergency I would have been instructed which radio station to tune to for further instructions! YESSS!
2 comments:
Dinah, I hope that you will find your way. I think the hardest part is knowing to accept the path laid out before you.
Did you live in AK before? Those are gorgeous photos.
Hi Jen!
I appreciate your kindness.
God is more faithful than I am faith-filled, and He is more trust-worthy than I am trusting. That is really really good news, yes? :)
And I agree with you - being willing to accept the unknown can feel like high adventure! Knowing it is the Lord's will, however, makes all the difference. We can celebrate that He is not capricious or random at all.
I never lived in AK, but served on the mission field there on two occasions. The photo from today's post was from the last trip; we were dropped off in Anchorage very early in the morning for a red eye that night, and to fill the day, we rented a car and did some sightseeing. We found a little town called Hope, and our saying became "We left Alaska on a road through Hope." :) we also found a great diner in a town called Sunshine, that I think had a population of 7. Great food, too. Glad you stopped by!
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