Work is a wonderful thing. Working all day not only enables us to accomplish some of our financial goals, but it also makes the time we are at home more satisfying. As a kid, I always wanted Christmas break to last a little bit longer, but after experiencing a recent 4 months of “Christmas break,” I was definitely ready to move on with life and get out of the house! This week I’ve been thinking that work is a gift from God. God gave Adam work–he was to tend the Garden of Eden. I’m glad Stephen and I are healthy enough to work. If you happen to dislike your job, picture your life without ANY job or any ability to work. Wouldn’t you agree that work is a wonderful thing?
Today we received our first regular paychecks! After work we headed to Red Robin (Stephen’s new infatuation) for supper. The quesadilla appetizer followed by the Blackened Bayou Burger, the Guacamole Bacon Burger, and fries more than satisfied our excited appetites. I even managed to squeeze in a white chocolate mocha from Starbucks.
Looking back over the past year, we are humbled that God would bless us and guide us as He has. Though we are not people of great faith, I have been able to better relate to Abraham’s experience. Just as God led Abraham to leave his family to go to a land that only God knew, by faith, 7 months before we knew what state (let alone what ministry) God wanted us to be in, we told our former employers that we had a desire to go help a church plant out west. We started moving towards a goal, and God made that goal increasingly clear as we approached it. We moved out into the desert, away from family, trusting that God would provide. And He always proves Himself faithful! He cannot deny himself.
Let me share another hymn by William Cowper that has been a meditation for me. I found it on the blog of friends of ours, Jed and Amy, who also moved homeless and jobless to NYC with the vision of planting a church there. God has since blessed them with jobs, an apartment and a baby girl on the way!
Meditate on these words:
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.