Confidence
“He made from one man every nation of mankind to
live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and
the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they
might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for
in Him we live and move and exist…” Acts 17:26-28, NASU
Our times are in His hands. Or as it is written,
“Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling.” Psalm 66:9,
New Living Translation
When you believe that Word, that indeed our times
are in His hands, and He does keep us from fumbling and stumbling around, you
will do awesome deeds for the Lord and His people. You will have built confidence
in His Name, and in His actions in your life. You trust that what He says He is
going to do, He will do it. Enough said.
When Laurie and I were part of a small group in
LaSalle/Peru, Illinois back in the day (1976-1980 to be exact) called Victory
Church, and then the name was changed for identifiable purposes to Victory
Community, we had to trust the Lord when we were placed in one of the common
purse community homes, with four other couples. And we were newlyweds! O Lord!
When He called us to leave the town of her birth,
childhood, and teen years included, with her parents and two sister families being
left behind, we ventured out, with our two young sons Josh and Ben. We
relocated to East Lansing, Michigan in 1980, along with several other church
families, to become part of Shiloh Fellowship (later changed to New Covenant
Christian Church in the early 1980s). We were wanting to be a part of the
Shepherding Movement happening in that decade.
We had to have confidence in Him.
Then when He set another divine appointment time
for seven years in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which we honestly called, “Our
time in hell” due to not only the heat but the spiritual battles we fought, our
trust level in Him had to be raised higher. Again, we needed to know He still
loved us, had called us there and hoped He would soon deliver us back to the
rest of the USA. On staff at both Derek Prince Ministries and Mahesh Chavda
Ministries for those seven years was a challenge, but with His grace, we were
overcomers in that appointed time also.
In 1994 both ministries, not necessarily in
conjunction with each other, moved families, staff, and offices to the
beautiful land of North Carolina. Charlotte to be exact. Cutting 13 hours from
the length of time it now took to travel back home to Iowa and Illinois once or
twice a year was truly a blessing. The Lord does have mercy, especially when
the four kids, now having added Hannah and Christen to the tribe, had to sit on
suitcases in the back seat of the four-door Ford while enduring those Chevy
Chase “National Lampoon Vacation” adventures on the interstates. In our
case, it was Martin’s Traveling Show.
I think you are getting the point. As we daily put
our lives in His hands, we learn to trust Him increasingly, believe more firmly
that He has our utmost at heart, knows what He is doing, and will complete that
which He started in us.
We often quote the verse about Him knowing His
plans for us, and sometimes it can just get too “familiar” and we dismiss it.
But think about it a bit longer.
The One Who dispersed the Jews out of Israel in
the 70s A.D. is bringing them back home in our day, just as He promised. Given
that mighty, daily, awesome miracle taking place right before our eyes, we can
have complete confidence that again, what He says He will do, He will do.
“For I know what plans I have in mind for you,’
says Adonai, ‘plans for well-being, not for bad things; so that you can have
hope and a future. When you call to me and pray to me, I will listen to you.
When you seek me, you will find me, provided you seek for me wholeheartedly;
and I will let you find me,’ says Adonai. ‘Then I will reverse your exile. I
will gather you from all the nations and places where I have driven you,’ says
Adonai, ‘and bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.’ Jeremiah 29:11-14,
Complete Jewish Bible
We serve an awesome God. (Sing it, Rich Mullins! Our God is an Awesome God)
If we continually walk in faith, we can have the
assurance that our God, our Father, knows best. I want to encourage you to not
let up, not to give in, press on in faith, hope, and love, and know that the
confidence He gives you will carry you through.
You will do mighty deeds. You will accomplish
mighty acts. You will be as the Lord God of Israel created you to be and do!
Ahava and
shalom,
