Parents, Don’t miss where God is at work. Within 10 days, we had moved our three girls out of three different colleges in three different cities, celebrated the college graduation for one of the girls, said goodbye to our Chattanooga church and community, moved three girls for their summer internships and programs, one to the rural mountains of East Tennessee, one to Atlanta, Georgia, and one to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH, celebrated an engagement party for our son and his fiance’ in Alabama, listed our house, sold our house to another minister of education’s family who, just like us, had a boy and 3 girls, and we were completely moved out of our house and into our rental home in Ohio… in 10 days! Our heads were spinning, but we were joyful and strangely at peace in all these major life changes that happened so quickly. How did all this happen? A couple of years ago, Anita and I felt a call to Dublin Baptist Church in Dublin, OH from our church in Chattanooga. This would mean a big change in our lives as we had served for 12 years in Chattanooga: our children had completed high school there, we had watched God work in the lives of the the people in our church and community in many ways, we had celebrated births, second births, graduations and weddings, we had grieved deaths, tornados and divorces, we had connected with people as we studied God’s Word together, we had established our lives and ministry there, our parents were close enough to be with them in a couple of hours… a move to Ohio was a big deal. We wrestled with God back and forth, one day ready to go, one day not ready at all. As we struggled, Anita journaled our decision journey… Family and friends gave us scripture and encouragement along the way and we began to see some patterns in all of it. God was doing things only God could do. As we intensely, sought His guidance through this period of about 3 months, He kept revealing His plans one step at a time… We listened as best we could. One of the men on the personnel team at DBC asked the question, “Why Dublin?” and I quickly quipped, “because it's the greatest place on earth, right?” The committee roared with laughter. Sensing later that the question needed a better answer, the pastor in me needed an acronym (since apparently that's the only way God talks to many of us preachers, haha)… So, here were the things God was saying to us from the scriptures to answer the question “why D.U.B.L.I.N.?”
Don’t miss where I am at work! (John 5:17, 19-20, Phi.1:6, Eze. 36:26-28,32)
Understand that My plans always supersede yours! (Isa. 55:8-9, Pro.19:21)
Believe that it is for My Glory, the Gospel and your Good!(Isa. 48:11, Rom. 1:16-17, 8:28, Jer. 29:7)
Lean into My Word! (Heb. 4:12, John 14:23,26, Psm. 119:138, Isa. 55:10-11)
I will show you My immeasurably more! (I Cor. 2:9, Jam. 1:9, Eph. 3:20-21)
Now is the time and I will do it! (Isa. 14:24)
As Henry Blackaby reminds us in his famous workbook, “Experiencing God,” God is always at work, find where He is at work and join Him in it. Jesus says in John 5:17 (NIV) "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." Even in this pandemic, God is at work! Don’t miss it, join Him in it, not just for the work, but mostly for the relationship with Him and His other children who are also at work with Him. There is a strange Joy and Peace in the craziness when we join Him where He’s at work.
Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!
