Freedom House Church and Healing Centre

On the move

 “Go”

Hello Saints,

In 4 days we move…again! I admire those and am maybe a bit jealous of those who remain in one place for a long time. Same house for 50 years or more! Wow…that would be nice! I can’t even count the times I’ve had to move in my life. It seems more and more normal nowadays to relocate for work, family (either to get away from or look after a loved one), and numerous personal reasons like divorce, retirement, adventure, etc. Moving still remains one of the top five stressors in life, and I can attest to that! Well, this will be our fifth move in 25 years of marriage, almost 20 years of it in Guelph. Now we go to another town nearby (Elmira)– a new adventure with loads of opportunity and unexpected surprises. We never know what the Lord has prepared for those who love Him (1Cor. 2:9).

I have been trying to frame this whole experience within a biblical context, and the word “go” keeps coming to mind. A simple two letter command that packs a real punch: leave, move, get out, GO! Apart from Adam and Eve being driven out of Eden, Abraham (Abram) is the first to really be told to “Go”: “Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you” (Gen. 12:1 NAU). In other words, “leave it all behind and follow me!” Aren’t these the same words Jesus used to call His disciples in the gospels? Is not the Christian life/following God in general, a series of moves as Holy Spirit leads? Anyone I know who is called to full-time Christian ministry is eventually and almost always called to “go” somewhere else. Think of all the “famous” people of the Bible – they all had to “move” to fulfill what God wanted to do in their life: Moses, Joshua, David, Ruth, Mary and Joseph, etc. In the command “go” is encompassed all the emotions, decisions, and stress of leaving the familiar and trusting God with the unknown – the One who calls you is faithful (1Thess. 5:24). Whether that “going” is for the missionary called to the foreign land, or that employee called to “go” share the good news with the co-worker experiencing the trial of a lifetime. Every form of “go” involves leaving our comfort behind and stepping into the fearful unknown. We are, by the way, pilgrims on a journey, foreigners in a foreign land, just traveling through. We are by nature those who are called to be on the move, since our Master has commanded us to “go”. I might just add that our “goings” are probably a little easier than wandering on foot through deserts with donkeys, carts and kids in tow; no maps, GPS, rest stations, restaurants, and amusements along the way…just GO! 

As much as I don’t like moving (even more now since the older we are, the more “stuff” we have accumulated), I have got to believe that God has indeed planned something that He wants to do through us, “In Him we live and MOVE and have our being” (Acts 17:28). God has always moved us for reasons that we never really knew until we planted ourselves in the new location to which He brought us. New salvations, new disciples, new relationships, new ways to see God do awesome things in us and through us – new opportunities to demonstrate the love of Christ and be lights in the darkness. I would like to say that with every move, it gets a little easier…but I can’t. Every move is still difficult in its own way. If I have learned anything through all of this, it is like everything else in life, a matter of perspective. What am I focusing on? If I focus on the process of moving, the whole exercise can be daunting. If I focus on the Lord – what He has planned in this move – what He wants to do in me; what He wants to do through me; what He wants to do in the people in my new community; What He wants to do…period! I can’t even imagine what He has planned: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared…" (1Cor. 2:9). With the right attitude, “going” with God can be exciting! So, I welcome the “go” of God, for I know He goes with me. Like Abraham, Moses, Joseph and the rest, the first thing I need to take with me is faith in the One who called me to “go”, for only in Him do I live, move and have my being.

“For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. 

Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.”

Have a super-blessed week!

"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."