It’s been an interesting time lately, and as elders we’ve been wondering “Did we do something wrong?” because things didn’t turn out the way we wanted or expected. But on closer inspection, the concern doesn’t hold true.
We have a choice: we can either do what God calls us to or not. Sometimes, that leads to odd places: before now personally I’ve resigned jobs more than once, moved to a place where I knew hardly anyone – and ended up realising it was exactly where I was supposed to go. The bit in the middle is a pretty dark and scary place at times; when God leads you through the valleys, sometimes the “light unto your path” barely reaches to the next footstep. But knowing the future is not our choice: our choice is to do that which is put in front of us, or to not do.
And by obeying even – especially! – in those dark, uncertain and sometimes scary places when it turns out differently to what you thought, we then have this knowledge: we are doing what we have been called to do, and God is with us. We are exactly in the centre of God’s will for us. It may not be fun; it may not be exciting, and it may not be where we think we should have been. But if God has led us to the place we are, then He has us in his hand. Part of our witness is to walk securely in that knowledge, and in His time we will be given the light to see by.
-Ian
