When the months of searching for a full-time job turned into years, oddly, we settled into feeling displaced. Uncertainty about your future is not a comfortable place to be, especially when it extends over time. Some of you know my story. Anyone who reads Soul Whisperer will get an insider’s look at my journey into brokenness and redemption. In truth, my family has been on a five-year rebuilding quest.
In the last year, the pursuit of a doctorate, a book, and series of smaller books are done. If you had me describe what the course has felt like viscerally, I’d say, “Long and hard.” Sentimentalizing, Robin (my wife) and I recently discussed God’s withholdings. Though I am no masochist, I praised God for a path that was difficult and unresolved. Only looking back could we see the divinely appointed sequence. As to God’s sovereignty, I reasoned that I would much rather go through “long and hard” if it led to a contribution.
My greatest fear is that my life’s purpose would be squandered. I have failed to leverage some potential already. There’s loss in that, always. In truth, each of us has buried the talent to some degree. But what you and I don’t want to have happen—is to miss out on the big-picture plan. What precisely does God want to accomplish through us? That is the critical question.
I presume that you, too, do not want to bury your talent. In my case, God gave inspiration through a long lost season to birth something for his glory. Without the spiral, I would never have summoned the internal fire to get it done. To that knowledge, I am eternally grateful. You also have God’s superseding hand working to draw out his ordained gifts. It is comforting to know that he will complete the works he has fore-planned! (Eph 2:10). But the fulfillment will not be short or easy. Never is.
So Lord, we come before you with renewed courage to say: If it takes“long and hard” to bring forth the fruit, then so be it! If uncertainty is the pathway to progress, then so be it! May we accept the truism, “When nothing is certain, everything is possible.” May we look back to see your arm coalescing all facets toward your ultimate aim! (Rom 8:28).
We love you, Lord Jesus, for all that you have done; but also because—you are the faithful steward our lives.