Here we are...and where is that, exactly?

So, here we are, after a 6 month experience...

We met a lot of new people, got to experience Southern culture, and were tested in a number of ways.  But more importantly, we learned a lot.

As I was doing my reading this morning (finishing the last chapters of Joshua, a couple of Psalms, and a few chapters in Proverbs), I realized that the time we are in now is a time of reflection.  A reflection on the events and people we encountered over the past six months.  It is also going to be a time of reflecting on what we have experienced and learned. 

Reflecting isn't so much pondering, as it is remembering an individual person, place, thing, event, etc. and being thankful for the time surrounding it.  It doesn't matter if the time was a time of joy, sorrow, or trial...we are called to be thankful in all situations (Ephesians 5:20).  Psalm 9 begins with:

I will give thanks to YHWH with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.

Abba provided for us in every way we could imagine.  And even to the point of leaving Tennessee, He provided just the right amount that we needed.  Just as He did in Psalm 68, He continues to provide for His flock today.  But His deeds went beyond providing for our needs.  He protected us from evil.  He called to our youngest, who heard His Son's voice.  He gave us hope, fulfilling a promise in Jeremiah 29:11.  And He gave us strength.  His Ruach spoke to us and gave us direction.  We were told "wait" when we wanted to run; the purpose of which was revealed weeks later.  His Ruach convicted us when we went against His will.  We cried, and we cried out, and we were comforted.  And we praised our Abba, YHWH, for each conviction...through each trial...for each provision.

As we grow and mature, as we reflect upon the past months, we know that this time of reflection will, itself, be a time of learning.  I pray that the Ruach reveals to us things that we learned that we do not yet realize.  We know that some of those things won't be revealed to us for many weeks, months, or even years.  But as a blind man receives a new set of eyes, we too, will see first in clouds and eventually with clarity. 

So, as we start this new chapter in our lives, we are progressing cautiously...not out of fear, but out of weariness. 

After being ill for several days, a man heads to the gym one morning.  He looks at the bar, with full knowledge that he can lift much more than what he already has on it.  He decides to take a little bit of the weight off.  As he goes to pull the bar off of the supports, his arms feel as though they are being pulled off.  He sets the bar back down and removes even more weight.  After he does a couple of sets, he starts putting the weight back on the bar.  After a few more sets, he feels like he's getting back to his old self.  So he starts adding even more weight to the bar.  He struggles and grunts, but he knows that he will be stronger and have more endurance in the long run.  He leaves the gym with a renewed vigor and feeling refreshed.

When you are weary, you are sometimes cautious to put more weight on the bar.  Sometimes you even start with less weight than what you normally use.  You have to start slow and with wariness until you are "awake" and ready to add more weight, for the purpose of becoming stronger and more enduring of what lies ahead.

As I sat at the table one morning before we left Tennessee, I had a young child ask me why I read my Bible so much.  For my answer, I quoted Joshua 1:8.

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth,
but you shall meditate on it day and night,
so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous,
and then you will have good success.


Are you doing as is instructed in this verse?
Are you meditating on the contents of the Torah?

I used to ask people the same question as I was asked.  I used to not understand why people read their Bibles for hours on end, or for two periods of time in a day.  That was before the Ruach convicted me and increased my hunger for YHWH's written Word.  I still have problems remembering what I read, but as I continue to read, and continue to pray for the recovery of my memory, I can recall a little bit more each time.  So, if you are believing the lie that there is "too much to remember" or "too much to do," pray against it.  Rebuke the spirit that is telling you that lie.

Are you prospering and having good success?
Or, are you "stuck" and not having success in your life?

Are you prepared for more weight (knowledge and responsibility) to be added to your bar?  Are you ready to have more vigor in your spiritual life?  If not, go back and read the verse above.  Do you think this is the reason?

People look at our situation and say that we are not having success, or are not prosperous.  It's the type of success that they are failing to see.  I recently sent an email to someone who responded that they would help us out if we did certain things.  And I explained that they failed to see what type of help I was actually asking for.  They were looking at the physical needs, and our physical situation, instead of the spiritual situation.  We had success during our time in Tennessee.  We did prosper.  We left Tennessee so much richer than when we arrived!  But those riches did come at a cost...a cost of which we are currently recovering from.  A cost that we are very thankful for!