Prayers/Hopes/Expectations

Right now is a time of transition in my life and Kristi's. We've just stepped away from pastoral ministry at a local church, we're contemplating lauching into a much bigger endeavor in the future, we're adjusting our schedules and our incomes and my sense of accomplishment and self-worth to new circumstances, we're hoping and praying for a family in not-too-distant future if God wills, and to top it all off, I just turned 40!



(By the way, I'm confused--maybe someone out there can clear this up: Is 40 too young to go ahead and have my mid-life crisis and buy a Porsche? To be honest, it doesn't really matter--on my budget, all I could afford would be a 15-minute tantrum and a used VW anyway!)



It's an interesting time...and an exciting one for me, at least.



The author of Hebrews talks about just such circumstances when he refers to faith as "...the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."



If you read those words and meditate on them and really let them "sink in", you'll realize, I think, that we are being told by God that there is a "substance"--that is, a definite, tangible, touch-and-feel reality to those things we hope for, and that there is sufficient evidence to produce faith, even in many things which are not readily seen.

One of my favorite stanzas of poetry comes from the German poet of the 1700's, Matthias Claudius, who wrote:

Seht ihr den Mond dort stehen?

Er ist nur halb zu sehen,

Aber ist doch rund und schön!

So sind wohl manche Sachen,

die wir getrost belachen,

Weil unsere Augen sie nicht sehen!

Translated, it reads:

Do you see the moon, standing there?

It is only half visible,

But is surely quite round and beautiful!

So are many things

about which we carelessly laugh,

(merely) because our eyes cannot see them!

In a world where we look to science and technology to explain everything, and in which we expect our lives to be ordered and scheduled more by our calendars than by our God, I think it is wise for us to occasionally remind ourselves of the value of recognizing that we don't have all the answers.

What lies ahead? I can't say. But by faith in the God Who has made me and loved me and Who, in the words of a beloved hymn, has brought me safe thusfar, I can know that what lies ahead is good, that it will work for blessing to me and to others who love Him, and that it will bring Him glory as He deserves.

Your prayers are appreciated in this time. Though we may not show it, there is a lot of uncertainty right now, and it's a time when we need the support and encouragement of our friends.

God bless you as you follow Him this day!