Moving Forward

I am writing this blog post in Abilene, Texas. Tim and I are here for the weekend (without Lewis) to prepare for our big move in August. Since I will miss our Ladies Bible class, I am writing my response to ‘my day’ on here.

Jonah 3 picks up after Jonah is spit out of the fish’s belly and is now being told by God, “Get up, go to the great city of Nineveh, and preach to it what I tell you to say.”  The first time God gave this command, Jonah ran away. This time Jonah obeyed God. Until I did this study, I never noticed a difference between God’s first calling and his second. Priscilla Shirer says,

     “While the destination of Jonah’s mission was the same, the directives slightly changed. In chapter 1, his instructions were clearer. God implicitly told Jonah what to do on Assyrian soil. Both His message and its purpose were unmistakable.
     On receiving a second chance, Jonah still knew it would require a one-way ticket out of town. He was still aware that a proclamation must be made, but he had received ambiguous insight on what that message should be. So now, instead of simply being required to go, he had to move forward without preassembled plans and details. While both commands required obedience, this one necessitated a greater measure of faith.”

I too feel that I am on a journey, but without all the plans and instructions set before me.

In our study, Priscilla asks for us to make a list of the details you would like to know that God has yet to reveal to you. Friends, I have too many details to really list them all. Some are big and some are small, but they are all important. A month ago I was feeling very frustrated, scared, nervous and overwhelmed by the unknowns, but since February 29^th God has given me a peace that can only come from Him! This peace has been unshakable. Yes, I can still feel the devil trying to plant ideas of doubt into my head, but they are quickly reassured by God presence. I really cannot express to you how wonderful it is to have God’s peace.

In the next paragraph the author states,

“We must discipline ourselves to place confidence in His decision to give us the information we need to successfully accomplish the step we are on in the journey.”

I completely agree with Priscilla here. God is not going to give me every detail at once, because I couldn’t handle all that info. I must trust that God will give me the detailed information, as I need it. I must continue to pray for his presence along the way so that I may remain in His peace through the journey.

Yesterday, we looked at a few apartments within our price range. Oh my goodness!  It was a shock to say the least. The homes were not just non-HGTV worthy; they were just plain uninhabitable.  I took several pictures, but I am not going to show them because I know the temptation it would be for you to ask me, “Are you sure you can do this?”  Thankfully, we did find a really nice place that was safe and clean and within our price range.

Ladies, I know the temptation to want to know everything all at once. We drove 16 hours across the country to find answers to all our questions; yet we still don’t have any definitive answers. It is obvious God is waiting on the right time to give us the desired information.

What I can definitively say is God’s presence is upon us. Even though we are not getting all our questions answered, we are seeing God’s hand at work. He has been in every encounter we have had since we left Phenix City.

Friends, I don’t know what is going to happen in the next 5 months, but I do know that God is good. My prayer is for God’s peace to carry us through whatever he has planned for us.