We are here, in New Zealand. It is so exciting! We have prayed and worked toward moving here for close to a year. Now we finally have stepped onto the soil of what is our new home for the next few years. It is so beautiful here. The people are fantastic. The summer weather is amazing and so much better than the below freezing temperatures we left in Michigan. Everything is going great!
There is just one small problem. I look ahead and I don't see it. I can not see what God has planned here. Our Visas came through, we packed, we moved, we are in a new country meeting new people, but I don't see the future. I can't see the plan. We have talked about the plan, we know what the plan is, we are excited about the plan...but I can't see the plan.
Why is it that when God brings us to each step in our lives, we can look back and say, "wow! can you believe what God has done?", then we look forward and say, "God, what are you doing??"
Many people in the Bible walked through this same problem:
Moses saw God deliver the Israelites from slavery, then they stood in front of the Red Sea with an army coming up behind them! "God, what are you doing??...will we make it?"
Joshua reached Jericho. He knew God would allow them to attack and win the battle. Then God told him to march around the city for 7 days and God would win the battle for them..."God, what are you doing?...this was not the plan."
Esther became Queen from being an orphan. Then, when her people were threatened, it was her who had to risk her life to ask the King to save them. "God, what are you doing??...am I strong enough?"
Saul became Paul when he encountered Jesus on the road. He sits in a jail cell wondering if he will live to see tomorrow..."God, what are you doing??...can I trust you?"
These are a few of the many stories in the Bible that show that when you follow God...you can never see what is ahead! It is exciting to follow God into new places, new jobs, new relationships. The scary part of following Christ is that He seems to never show you the full plan. I guess, that is where faith comes in. Faith that all is just as God wants it to be. I just need to trust that each step I take will be in the right direction. Each person I meet is who God put in my path. Every day will get closer to what God has planned, but then I will be asking once again..."what's next? God, what are you doing??"
I have heard before that trust is faith in action. So, I guess I am heading to bed, waking up tomorrow and taking the next step. That is all God wants each of us to do, I suppose. To take the next step that He has asked of us. To try to follow Him each day. To trust that He really does have a plan and we don't always need to see it. Then, while we take the next step, trust in Him and follow the path ahead...our faith will become the future. Our path will be His plan.
