“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me. When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Matthew 10:16-20
I said “goodbye” this past Sunday to the congregation
I’ve served with for ten years; I have not yet said “hello” to the new
congregation I’m supposed to serve this year.
I’m in-between. If you’re between
a rock and a hard place, you’re in-between.
If you’re supposed to be as harmless as a dove, but shrewd as a snake,
you’re in-between. If you’re arrested
for being good, and you want to scream FOUL, but the one
who taught you to wait, instead of trying to force the issue, says to wait for
His words…you’re in-between. There are
times when I hate being in-between.
Check that…I hate being in-between ALL the time!
But here I am, and the chaos of life in the in-between
times is upon me. I am neither where I
was, nor where I’m headed. I prefer to
have things a lot more planned, clearly-defined, and scheduled. The good news is that it is just that,
planned, clearly-directed and on-schedule; the bad news, for my
obsessive-compulsive-disorderly self, is the One who holds the Day-Planner is
in Heaven.
I have to remind myself often, that God’s plans, like
His ways and thoughts, are on a much grander level than I can even
imagine. And He’s got stuff well in
control. It’s not that I ever doubt
that…my perfectionist, impatient, wanna-control gene compels me to try to control
what’s going on, and the God who knows exactly what, where, when, who, and
(most importantly) why things are going to play-out the
way they will…is my LORD. And it’s
something I need to remember…as in front burner…It is He
who instructs, commissions, sends, leads, and in every way protects and uses
me….not the other way around.
For You Today
One other thing I have to keep tattooed on
the inside of my eylids (so I’ll see it often) is that the Christian life is a
journey, and I’m always in that in-between place. I’m not where I was, but I’m being led to
where I need to be.
May the God of grace and peace give you that
joyful expectation of this holy journey of life in His plan, His way, and His
glory, instead of letting you try to own the cesspool of control, organized
materialism, and owning exactly nothing!
For
other posts on this topic: Shrewd & Harmless and When Faith Leads to Trouble
[1] Images: Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
