During the second service, I went to the altar to pray. In the midst of the voices around me and the voice of Pastor Sam praying from the pulpit, the voice of God spoke clearly: "Build your business." Now, mind you, I'm an underemployed doctoral candidate carrying six-figure student loan debt. At the time I'm writing this (July 7) I have five dollars in my personal checking account. I have no prior business experience.
You know, God has said things throughout Scripture that seem audacious. He asked Noah to build an ark in a land that never knew rain. He told Abraham to leave his father's household, and Abraham left without a clue as to where he was going. I'm sure you could add several other examples of God's audacious commands.
Apparently, God doesn't have a problem with my student loan debt, my lack of savings, and my lack of experience in the business realm. He is seeing a bigger picture. And that, my friends, is the heart of the exilic experience. We have to hear and obey Him without regard to what we see. Or, to quote Scripture, we walk by faith and not by sight, so we make it our business to please God (see Second Corinthians 5). He is pleased when we joyfully do what He says.
- In the face of unfamiliar territory, become engaged in the community.
- With your hands full of strange seeds, dig up the foreign soil and do some planting.
- When God says "do not decrease", make it your business to increase.
- If God made the plan, then the plan must come through.
I'm a little slow, but I am learning to hear God and to obey Him by doing what He says.
What has God said to you? Keep Pastor Sam's summary of Jeremiah 29 close by: Relax in God's plan. Rest in God's promises. And, most importantly, remember God's principles.
See you next Tuesday, my friends.
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