Don't tell anyone, but I went to church on a beach yesterday. Normally, we wouldn't go to a service held on a beach, but a friend of ours was preaching, not to mention, I love the guy's preaching, and it was just an awesome opportunity to have a one-day vacation as a family.
I was quite worried the pastor might give a "less-than" sermon because there might be a certain number of unbelievers there, but it was quite the opposite. I was so happy. He actually turned to a passage in 1 Samuel 16 and exposited the Word of God just like he would have if he had been in his own church.
All pastors trust and pray that God is using them to speak to their audience and he never could have known what I needed to hear that day, but it was just more confirmation for us that we are right where God wants us.
The passage was about David, soon to be King David, but he didn't know it. Samuel had come to see Jesse and all his sons as one of them was going to be chosen as Israel's next king. Jesse had called all of them, except for David. Why? Because he was just a shepherd, watching his flocks, in the field, completely overlooked, not important.
Finally they brought David out from the fields...turns out he was the one to be king! Oops! Samuel annointed him with oil and back to the fields he went...for the time being. What was the "take-home"? There were 4 F's, he called them....
1. Be faithful in your Field. How did the pastor know we had a field?! He didn't of course, but my husband and I laughed. We actually have a field, but it isn't just a literal one, we also have a figurative field....right now it is writing a course. This is one of his least favourite things to do. He is grateful for the work, but he would so much rather be working on other projects or things that bring either more income or more satisfaction. Yet, this is what he has. For now. It's his field. I'm sure David would have liked to be doing more exciting work than just watching a few sheep. Yet, God did keep things interesting while he was out in his field. He sent along a bear and a lion. Another "why"? Because God was preparing him for his Goliath which was soon to come. It would, in fact, be sin for us to complain about our "field" based on this passage. So, instead, we are grateful and thank God for the field He has given us, both the literal and figurative one. And we wonder, if maybe, just maybe, God will continue to use it to prepare us for something (or not) later on.
2. Be faithful in the familiar. This is similar to the first "F". Here is a great story about being faithful in the familiar.......This past year, my oldest son has wanted to go the Worldview Camp his older sister had gone to two years ago. She had made it seem like such a positive experience that he couldn't wait to go, too. He signed up last year and then it was cancelled. He was very disappointed. Then, this past year, there was space, but we told him, "There's no way." We also told his sister, "Sorry." We couldn't justify the cost and besides, she had already gone. He had already learned a lot of worldview-type knowledge in other conferences, so it wouldn't benefit him too much PLUS he needed to save his money, not spend it. PLUS he had to finish up a course for school.....the list of reasons went on and on. BUT, we always told the kids, "If God wants you there, He'll make a way." Meanwhile, my oldest daughter's miracle happened when she found out they were looking for mentors. Turns out she got to go AND she gets paid to be there!!!! My son had pretty much given up hope. There were 10 guys on the waiting list...there was no way.....hmmmmm.....sounds like a miracle might just have to happen.....
I heard my son pray at family worship, "Lord, if you want me there, please make a way, but I'll be ok if it doesn't work out, too." That's the kind of prayer God loves. I believe he meant it. So he dove into his chemistry course these past few weeks, working all day on chemistry. That is unfamiliar territory to me, but it was his "field'. He continued to work in what was "familiar", by just doing regular life, always trusting, always praying, but really, he had completely surrendered his rights to going.
Then, an unexpected gift of money came. I didn't think we should put it towards the camp as I thought the right thing to do would be to use it for groceries, but then the giver actually mentioned, "Use it for the camp if you'd like." With that freedom, I quickly ran to my husband and just like two years ago when the opportunity came up for my daughter, my husband was nearly asleep again and said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow." WHAT?! So, all night I prayed that God would work it out as it seemed a miracle was happening. Sure enough, the next morning, before I even got a chance to speak to RM, he had already asked my daughter to see if there was a last minute space for our son to go. This was only 2 days before the camp. But no miracle. There was no space. I was disappointed and so was he, but in the spirit of staying faithful we thanked God anyway as He clearly didn't think he needed to be there.
Meanwhile, we all headed off to the beach the day the camp was starting. My son wasn't going. Half way through the day, my daughter started calling and texting from where she was taking wedding photos. We missed all the calls and all the texts because we were having such a fun day in the sand and surf. When we finally left to go home, we called her back only to find out a space had opened up....with hours to spare before the camp started! Turns out, some guy had cut up his hand really badly and couldn't make it to camp anymore! Sorry about that! Don't know what happened to the other guys on the waiting list, but somehow....in not just the 11th hour, but the 11:59th hour, our son made it in. I told him, "We've got good news and bad news. The bad news is we won't have you around this week to help with the animals and you won't be able to do your chemistry, but the good news is YOU'RE GOING TO CYWAL (the camp)!!!!!" He was in shock. We were all in shock, but thrilled that once again, our children could all see that God cares about their lives and the details of their lives. He is showing them life lesson after life lesson that miracles still happen and that they just need to trust Him, surrender their rights to Him, and that He can work out anything He wants to work out. So we headed home from the beach, packed his clothes and took him right to the camp. Talk about a whirlwind day!
This is being faithful in the field and in the familiar.
3. Be faithful in the forgotten. David was forgotten, left in the field. He wasn't important enough to his father. So sad. We are still being overlooked, or so it seems, in the work we are pursuing. It feels like the places we have sought out work have forgotten us. Yet, God is at work behind the scenes. God elevated David. He never elevated himself. We just need to be faithful even in this time when we feel forgotten. How does that actually look? By continuing to pursue what we do have and trusting God that He hasn't forgotten us even if others have.
4. Be faithful in the future. David was now annointed as king, but initially he went right back to his field. God would work out when he would actually sit on a throne in a palace. We, too, must trust God in His timing that if we are to succeed in the ventures we are pursuing, that God will work out all the details of what that looks like. We can't even imagine what God may have planned for us. It is good to not know.
So....church on the beach was awesome! We all got a little too much sun, but had so much fun AND we did truly hear and take in the Word of God. Miracles were happening while we were at the beach enjoying ourselves. We didn't even know. More life and faith lessons were learned.......all in the course of the familiar, just living life.
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