Expect The Unexpected

Today is a new day and after yesterday's emotional rollercoast experience I am not at all deterred but all the more thankful to God. Many of you have been praying and following the story about SN for the last few weeks, praying for her safety and protection. Just to recap, yesterday we thought she was really safe...but as I did a double check on the facts it turned out that she was not completely safe humanely speaking. But in a sense she is safe. Perhaps this is why I have so much peace in my heart today. She is in the safest place and that is under the shelter of the Almighty. I was so moved by many who emailed responding with cheers and words of encouragement...friends who have prayed for this little girl's protection. It made me realize more than anything else that God is using SN's life to bless us in the most unusual ways. For each of those who have prayed and continue to pray are the invisible army who stand or in some cases who are bowing their hearts and their knees before the Lord of the universe pleading on her behalf. This is just another dimension of what it means to seek justice for the oppressed. To perserve in prayer and to have the resolve to not give up. Whether we realize it or not, He is knitting our hearts with hers. He is knitting our hearts with the things that are on His heart. He is drawing us deeper into His purposes and for that there is much to be thankful for.

This morning in my quiet time, I was meditating on 1 Corinthians 15:58 which says: Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. To seek justice on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves involves standing firm, not being troubled by the visible reality but having the resolve to give ourselves fully to that which God has called us to do knowing that when we are laboring for Him we are indeed not laboring in vain. The fact that SN is still in Svay Pak is indeed a cause for concern, but more and more, as we wait for her to truly be safe, to truly live a life free of fear and free of oppression, God is raising up a community of believers to pray and in the process, He is enlarging His army and enlarging our faith, our trust and causing us to lean on Him in ways that we are not normally used to. This journey is not just about SN's life but it is also about our lives. I am learning that He is teaching me (and perhaps others) to live on the edge, to expect the unexpected, to accept the twists and turns as we labor for Him and for His purposes. To not yield to the visible reality, but to rest in Him and to wait patiently in Him. Psalm 37 has become one of my life verses for this cause for as it says 'commit your ways; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.' So let us not grow weary but keep commiting our ways to Him--- commit to intercede, to not forget these who He holds so dear in His heart, commit to press on with hope in Him, commit to speaking up for the voiceless and as we do, indeed we will have the privilege of experiencing and seeing the justice of the Lord.

A friend of mind once said to me the journey is the destination. This is the journey that He has called us to. It is a journey that has many tears but it also is a journey that has inexpressible joy, a term that my dear colleague Brian shared with me yesterday. For some strange reason God has given me an inexpressible joy as I think of SN. Regardless of the uncertainty that she lives under at this moment, regardless of the uncertainty that we may feel at this time, I happen to believe that God has set her apart as His, I happen to believe that its just a matter of time when she will enjoy a life of true freedom, I happen to believe that despite these times of waiting, He is weaving something that when finished will bring Himself glory and make us more like His Son as we persevere in obedience to Him. But for now He has given to me (and to others) a very special treasure --- to love her as if she were our own daughter and to allow our hearts to be stretched to a new level of faith. So let us walk with eyes of faith for without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)