Monday, October 27, 2014

Going Quiet with God


   
Going Quiet with God

It has been a very long time since I have written a blog for “The Moving Edge.”  It is not because I have nothing to say because if you know me, you know I always have something to say.  It is not because there is nothing going on in the ministry or in “The Moving Edge,” God is always at work and so there is always work to be done or getting done.  It is because I have felt the need or desire to “Go Quiet with God.”

    What does the statement mean when I say I felt the need or desire to “Go Quiet with God,” simply it is that I needed to seek Him and His desires in my life.  I needed to be still.  There were very few days that didn’t start before 5am and end somewhere very late (if I even slept at all) where I just fell asleep where I was.   I was struggling to juggle the work in the Middle East and North Africa, the bombardment of questions about my thoughts about what was happening in the region, the heart-wrenching questions regarding my care and love for my family and feeling God still wanted me to work in this region, the upcoming visit of my friend from Egypt and his visit  and his visit, the upcoming busy schedule of travel and projects (Turkey will happen in early November), and the financial responsibilities, and the challenges of being in a faith-based ministry.

    Psalms 46: 10 says:  “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  I have known this verse pretty much all my life.  I do believe it is one of the first Bible verses that I learned when I was in my Bible study classes as a young child, sitting next to my Great Aunt Cathleen, at Errol Heights Baptist Church in Portland, Oregon.  This verse says so much in such a few words.   So I took the two words to heart and was still.  I watched God being exalted among the nations, even in the midst of the beheadings in Iraq and Syria.  I watched him be exalted when a village refused to convert back to Islam and professed Jesus Christ as their Lord, while the whole world watched them die for their beliefs.   I saw and experienced Him move in our lives, in ways that only He could.  I watched all of this and yet in my human-ness, I still cried out to Him.  There were days that I was angry with God because I felt that He wasn’t answering my prayers and was just letting me hang out here on that branch all alone.  On the days I was angry, I cried out even louder to Him, not realizing that all along that my God and Savior was answering my prayers.  In hindsight I realize that God was using this time for me to just be on my knees and talk to Him. 

    So now I am back.  Does this mean that all is perfect, not by a long shot; I still get up before 5am every day and still work very late and still struggle to get it all done.   I am still getting the questions.  I still pray daily for the people of the region that God has called me into.  My heart breaks for the friends I have in the region God has called me to work in.  I still have the same busy schedule and yes my team and I are leaving for Turkey in 2 weeks.  And our financial situation is not any better today than it was, probably even worse.   However through all of this, there is one FANTASTIC and GREAT constant; that is the Lord Jesus Christ, who continually is faithful and walking alongside of us. 

    A friend of mine, Brian Underwood (who works with me with International Commission)) posted this on Facebook:

          “A missionary is someone sent by Jesus Christ just as He was sent by God.  The great controlling factor is not the needs of people, but the command of Jesus.”  Oswald Chambers.

Although I don’t call myself a missionary, however I do say that I am a worker of Jesus; I must realize that I do the job that I do because of a command of Jesus to go and tell others about Him.  This is what it is all about: The Command of Jesus.  Sorry that I went away for a time.   God is still working and He is so wanting us, each of us to answer His Call and continue His Work and be part of His Work.  If you want to know how you can answer His Call in going, praying or being part of our ministry team, please just sent me a message and I would be glad to share with you how.    God Bless, Ron