I am rocking on a little padded swing on the second-floor porch of a huge house overlooking a brilliant host of North Carolina trees. The wind is swooshing through the branches, trying to make the sound of ocean waves only without the pauses. Crickets are chanting. Birds are twittering.
I am a missionary suffering for the sake of Jesus. Who ever thought suffering could be so blessed?
You know, He promised His disciples if they would give up home and family and comfort, then He would return it with a hundred-fold. I’ve left home and family and comfort a few times now, and His promise has never failed me yet.
For all I’ve given up, the One who leads me has given back more than I could ask or imagine.
“The Lord is good, and His love endures forever.”
We drove from Gainesville, Georgia, to Hendersonville, North Carolina, today. Lisa, Teri, Lilly, and I. I’ve never been to North Carolina before. Turns out God made a couple places in this world even more beautiful than Nebraska. Fascinating, isn’t it?
This is our first leg in a 6,000-mile journey. We don’t really know what we’re doing or where exactly we’re going or what God’s got planned. But He knows, and that’s all that matters. We walk by faith and not by sight. At one point last week, I was thinking how nice it would be if God would actually give me the tangible answers to some of the things I’ve been trying to trust Him for.
You want to know His response? “It wouldn’t be faith if you could see everything I see.” If only we understood how easy it is for Him, how many resources He has at His beck and call - like the father leading his slightly nervous child down the hallway in the dark. “I can’t see, Daddy. I can’t see.”
If only we knew how much He can.
Then again, if He let us see that, we wouldn’t really need faith any more. It would be too easy.
For now, I’m content to stay blind so long as He never lets go of my hand. He hasn’t lost His grip yet. Meanwhile, I wait for the day when my faith becomes sight. Just think how floored we’ll all be when He finally turns the lights on.
It’s much more fun this way.
