Well, it happened. On September 29th until November 8th I will report to work at 2:15 in the afternoon and get off at 10:45 at night, rather than my usual 6:00 a.m. till 2:45 p.m. schedule. What does this mean for me? Why have I titled this post Painful Providence? During this period our missional community will kick off. The missional community that we (Heath, Kimberly and myself) are preparing for, praying for and can’t wait for will meet in our house and for six weeks of it I will not be there. Period. I let myself believe it might not happen, but that’s what I get for not being a realist. Thankfully, there are three leaders and not just two. The painful part is that I have a deep desire to be apart of the lives that will be in our home and I feel like a dad who is going overseas and will miss a crucial time in the lives of his kids. The analogy breaks down, but that’s how I feel. The providence part is that this is God’s doing and I don’t fully know why. I have some thoughts. Yesterday, when Cameron was preaching on the mission of God, he made the point that the mission was and is God’s idea. It is always in God’s hands and ultimately He is the only One who can fulfill His mission. When I start to think to myself that I am needed and stuff can’t get done without me being there, it’s probable that I am slipping into legalism. Great point Cameron and I thank God He gave you those words. The Spirit brought two different verses of Scripture to my mind. The first one is Psalm 20:7, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” The enemies of Israel had chariots and horses. They had great confidence in these things. Verse 8, “They collapse and fall, bet we rise and stand upright.” Why? Because of God’s name. For us it’s Jesus. His name means Salvation. Jesus is the one who brings salvation from sin and the wrath of God and brings us to the Father. So, this means this can happen without me for six weeks. Second, most of the time my plans are not God’s. Most of the time, for my plans to come to pass, I must be apart of them which gives me confidence in myself. God has plans and it’s His desire for His children to join Him in these plans. He has made them clear in Scripture and they will come to pass. His desire is to make every tribe, tongue and nation worshippers in Spirit and Truth. This means He is calling me to join Him on a different shift and away from the Body for six weeks. Who knows what will come of this? “For who has known the mind of the LORD, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:34-36