Peace in the Midst of the "Freak Out"

So we find out our contract on our flat will not be renewed. Our owner wants to sell our flat. At this point, unless someone with an extra 270,000 euro wants to give us a generous loan, we have to find a new place to live. We won’t be thrown out in the cold. We will have time to find a new place. We would like to stay … at least until we do our stateside assignment in July 2013, but if it sells, we’re out.

I won’t lie; I had a freak out moment. Then, as I let truth talk to my heart and brain and not my emotions, I began to contemplate. Then, a few days later, I read something brilliant that reminds me who really is in charge of my situation.

In Genesis, in the first book of the Bible, I find Abram (he later gets a name changed and is called Abraham, the father of all Jews, but right now he is still Abram) in a peculiar predicament. He’s had a long history with his nephew, Lot. They go way back. Now, after relocation and a lot of success, they are too big to live next to each other. Abram gives Lot the choice of where he wants to live. He can have luscious, green, fertile land or he can have dusty plains. Well, Lot chooses the luscious, green, fertile land. He takes his stuff and moves.

Now, this is the intensely beautiful part. The Bible says that after Lot leaves … “the Lord said to Abram” and he gives him this huge reminder that He (the Lord) will give him all the land and that he will be a blessing and the father of a nation.

God’s timing is impeccable. I love how God shows up at just the right time. Abram was human. He could have been discouraged by Lot’s choice, by Lot’s selfishness, by Lot’s inconsideration for Abram. Abram could have felt like he got the short end of the stick. Yet, God comes in and tenderly reminds him that He has not forgotten him. God knew what Abram needed. He just needed to hear from Him.

So in the midst of this little news, God has shown up, with perfect timing. I can honestly tell you that this is a journey of faith and trust. This is a timely exploration to test the condition of my heart and my faith. If I let news like this, that to me appears to be unexpected, rock my foundational beliefs about God and who he is – what’s the point in expressing faith? Faith is a blind dependence - yet a conscious one - to depend on and trust the truth of someone bigger than yourself.

Just this morning, God gave me yet another reminder of his fantastic sense of timing. In the book, “Unto the Hills” by Billy Graham, he makes the following statement: As God’s children, we are his dependents. Dependent children spend little time worrying about meals, clothing, and shelter. They assume and they have a right to, that all will be provided by their parents. Because God is responsible for our welfare, we are told to cast all our care upon Him, for he cares for us (I Peter 5:7). Because we are dependent upon God, Jesus said ‘let not your heart be troubled’. Children are not backward about asking for things. They would not be normal is they did not boldly make their needs known. God has said to his children to come boldly before the throne of grace … God is keenly aware that we are dependent upon Him and for life’s necessities.

So, my Chris and I wait, as bold children, for His answer. We would like to stay here. We have asked him for a miracle. However, if our Father desires to do something different, I already trust Him for the outcome. And, who’s to say that kind of peace isn’t the miracle we’ve asked for already answered!

Loving the timing of an intense God,
Christina