But then God....

Okinawa, Japan

It hardly seems possible that less than two months ago we were planning a vacation with some friends in Europe, Italy in particular. But then God....

This really has been the story of our lives. But then God....

But there we were on Feb 5th, minding our own business. Bev had watched and episode of "I'll Have What Phil's Having" earlier in the week. It was an episode about the food in Tokyo, Japan. And unlike her previous desires to avoid Asia in our travels, she had a change of heart. "I think I could enjoy that!" came streaming out of her mouth. I almost dropped dead in my tracks. "What have you done with my wife!"

So then on Thursday 5 Feb I was up early as usual studying and praying. I felt the LORD say to me, "Begin to prepare sermons." That was odd. We have spent the last two years pouring into our children and grandchildren, as well as providing marriage therapy as part of our church counseling center. But we had no openings for sharing the Word. We had no connections that would facilitate an opportunity. We had put this in the LORD's hands. If something came it would have to be Him. We had no way of making anything happen.

And yet, I distinctly felt Him tell me to prepare sermons. So I began to prepare.

Bev and I were heading to MacDill Air Force Base to do some shopping that morning. As we started out on the journey I mentioned to Bev what I had felt the LORD tell me that morning. "Begin to prepare sermons." She responded, "OK." But how else could she respond. If this was from the LORD, it was from the LORD!

To speed this up a bit, but then God....

That evening we received an email from a friend in our Sunday School class. Their son, a missionary in Japan, needed someone to fill their pulpit for three months this Summer so they could return to the States and reconnect with their supporting congregations. The congregation in Japan was primarily American military and their families.

Bev is ready for Asia. I'm preparing sermons. We are free this Summer. We can afford to travel there. We know the needs of the military. But then God....

We both felt a confirmation from the Holy Spirit that HE was opening this door.

So this is where we are, Okinawa bound.

Do you have any "but then God ...." moments in your life? I hope so.

We'll keep you updated as we go along. Watch for ministry updates, food recommendations, and links to sermons. And lots of pictures of "But then God ...." moments.

Bad Timing

Joshua 3:15

          So much in life involves timing. Athletes know this all too well. The difference between a field goal point and a missed opportunity is timing. A split second one way or the other means a miss. Horse racing is often decided by a fraction of a second. Swimmers touch the wall to signal their completion of the race. If they fully extend at just the right time they can be the winner.

          Pregnancy happens based on timing. Even when we are not aware of it, the timing of the preliminary events make pregnancy possible. And everything must be just right. If the timing is wrong the minus sign appears.

          The international space station’s orbit and the launching of satellites is all about timing. If the launch is off by just a few seconds, or the burner is cut short, the mission in a failure. The satellite doesn’t achieve proper orbit and is just an expensive piece of space jewelry.

          So why would the LORD pick that time to cross the Jordan River? Joshua couldn’t have picked a worse time to cross. It was at flood stage. He would have known this. I know if I had been in his shoes I would have questioned the LORD’s instructions. There would have been all sorts of things running around in my mind. The roaring flood waters presented an extra challenge to their crossing.

          But the bad timing made their crossing a true sign of the LORD’s presence with them. If they crossed during the dry season, not such a big deal. They could have walked with their shoes and socks off and pants rolled up. No miracle was needed. So why didn’t the LORD just wait? Why did He pick the most difficult time to cross?

          Have you ever noticed that the LORD allows the most difficult times in our lives to be the times of greatest growth potential? He allows life’s circumstances to use up our resources in order to get us to a place where we will depend fully on Him. All our possible solutions are doomed to fail. Then the LORD gives us the solution, an impossibly difficult obstacle. There is no way we could do it ourselves. We know that! But the LORD calls us to do it anyway.

          And if the LORD is in the timing, we will succeed! Even when all looks against us, we will come out on top because the LORD will place us there. And in the end, He will get the credit. This will happen because everyone will be able to clearly see that it was an impossible task. No one will be able to come up with a plausible explanation of how it happened apart from the intervention of the LORD.

          And when that happens, the LORD will get the credit. Praise and honor will be freely given to Him, the One who did the impossible. And anyone else who tries to take credit will look like a fool.

The I-You Dance

Psalm 18:37-50

          The interplay of our will and God’s will, our actions and God’s actions often puzzles us in our lives. How do my actions interface with the sovereignty of God? If He is really in charge of every detail, do my choices really matter? Am I just a robot in His diorama?

          David has been in the fight of his life. He didn’t know if he was going to survive from one moment to the next. He had fantastic trust in the LORD, but he was still in physical danger. The self-protection instincts which were created by the LORD were bumping up against his trust in the LORD for protection. His biology seemed at war with his faith. His brain kept putting his body in fight-flight mode, even while he would be praying and trusting.

          We hear this ping pong of David and the LORD in the next few verses of this psalm. We hear David say what he did, and then almost without skipping a beat he talks about what the LORD did. Back and forth, weaving a story of redemption and salvation. The LORD works with our will when our will is lined up with His. He uses our actions as part of His plan when we yield our actions to His direction. When we do what He wants, we are doing the work of the Creator of the Universe.

          The first two verses tell of David’s pursuit and defeat of an enemy. He crushed them. He destroyed them to the point that they couldn’t rise. And then David writes that it was the LORD who provided the strength that was needed in those moments to sustain the battle. It was the LORD who worked on the hearts of the enemy which caused them to lose the will to fight. They became afraid of David, even though he was often greatly outnumbered by his enemies. And David recognized and acknowledged the LORD’s hand. It wasn’t David, it was the LORD who did these things.

          David had prayed and the LORD had heard his prayers. The LORD made them flee and David was able to destroy them. Do you hear the interconnectedness of the LORD’s work and David’s? And even David’s work would not happen if the LORD wasn’t giving him the strength. Another way to say this is that it was all the LORD’s work.

          As a result of this way of doing battle, the LORD working on the enemy and in and through David, the local nations became fearful of David as a king. There was something more to this than just a man who knew battle strategies. It was more than the strength and resolve of his forces. Something they couldn’t explain would happen in battles and David would end up victorious. And it scared them!

          For David there was a clear explanation that drove him to worship. His God was alive. His God was active in the affairs of humanity. He showed up for His team.

          Do you see the connections in your life? Do you give the LORD space to work as David did? Do you give Him credit, or do you seek the limelight?