7 Days and a miracle - 6 Days to go

Tuesday – 6 Days to go

“Your shoes are already wet, as though you are oblivious of the raging Jordan.” These words served as a surprising encouragement as I was having a conversation today with a pastor friend of mine. He was asking how the arrangements are going in this final week of preparations for GYC and I let him know of how everything was pretty much covered, besides the one critical item of the plane ticket. His words were a response to me expressing the confidence that “nothing is too hard for God.” (Jer. 32:17)

I’m exactly 6 days away from when I should be flying to the USA and I’m still praying on a miracle for the plane ticket.

The beauty (and sometimes the burden) of trusting in God is that our dependence on Him is based more on who He is as a faithful and providing God, and not at all on how the current circumstances appear to be looking. In the “raging Jordan” incident that my friend refers to, the nation of Israel were on their way to the land that God had promised to give them. They were a small and feeble nation without any real resources to defend themselves; them making it to the Promised Land, especially by crossing the Jordan, seemed pretty impossible.

On the event that they were meant to cross the river Jordan, God instructed the priests--who were at the forefront of the nation--to set the soles of their feet into the river before it would split (Joshua 3:13). Unlike the parting of the Red sea, which took place roughly 40 years before (Exodus 14), this experienced required a serious level of faith on the part of the Israelites. Under the leadership of Moses, they had seen God part the Red sea. Now they had to trust that God could do the same thing again, under Joshua’s leadership. Them being commanded to set their feet into the Jordan, before it parted, would have been their expression of faith in the promise that God would make the waters separate.

As with the Israelites at the Jordan River, I too am at a point where I am to move based on a steady confidence in God’s ability. The circumstances at hand seem somewhat adverse, but I have seen enough of God’s leadings throughout this whole year (2016) to have me confident that He can part the few minor barriers I currently face.

A statement that’s keeping me going:

“Let nothing hinder you. Fate has not woven its meshes about any human being so firmly that he need remain helpless and in uncertainty. Opposing circumstances should create a firm determination to overcome them. The breaking down of one barrier will give greater ability and courage to go forward. Press with determination in the right direction, and circumstances will be your helpers, not your hindrances.” Christ’s Object Lessons p.331

There hasn’t been much evident progress since yesterday, at least not as I see things, but God is still to make a way. I spent much of today working on sourcing the remaining funds for the flight and I’m still positive that things will unfold as the week progresses. I know that Jesus is concerned with all that one goes through and that the current circumstances, regardless of how they may appear, are not an indicator of what God has in mind.