Confidence To Move Ahead

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." Hebrews 10:35-36

I read this verse this morning and it was as if it blazed itself right into my heart. I just love it when I read a word from the Bible and it's as if it was written just for me, just at that moment. I have lots of thoughts rolling around my head this morning, so I'll try and keep them in line so they make sense. But this verse this morning was like a much needed shot in the arm. When we made the decision a few weeks ago to listen to what God had been telling us and make big changes in the life of our family, we took a big step of faith. And since then, we've kind of been in an awkward place of questioning everything. And I mean everything. Part of us is worried that we'll make the wrong choices and the wrong decisions, and we're worried that the devil will do everything in his power to lead us astray.

One of the things that we'd hoped would keep going with this time of transition was our small group time. We cherish the families who come to our group and really value our time together. But wouldn't you know, as soon as we shared our hearts, other opportunities began coming up for members of our group. Our group has given up it's Sunday afternoons and evenings religiously for...hmm... I think it's almost four years. And just like that, other opportunities have sprung up for different people in our group and it looks like now our cherished group time has come to a close for now. And at first, we were really worried about that. We were worried that what was really happening was the enemy coming against our group and doing what it can to break it up. But then we really looked at what was happening, and it's not like people in our group are just going to sit at home doing nothing. They're going to be using the time for God, to take a new direction that wasn't available for them before. And that's a great thing. Where we started out worried, we now have confidence that God will use that time for each and every one of our group members to benefit them. We also have confidence that our time will be filled as well with something new and exciting- and we're looking forward to seeing what that is!

I guess at times I almost find myself just looking around a little wild-eyed and thinking to myself, what is really going on here? You know, I look at everything cross-eyed, waiting for something bad to happen because of the choices we've made. This past Sunday we went to a church that we really had high hopes for, and while we all enjoyed our time with the church we didn't have that moment of "this is the one" and I think we were all a bit disappointed with that. That means our quest continues, and if you've ever flipped open the yellow pages and looked at the church listings, you could see how our task might seem daunting.

But I have confidence. I have confidence that we are following God's timing. That when it's time for us to walk into our new church home, that they will be ready for us. I have confidence that we are in a season of growth and that one of the things we are growing is patience. And we will persevere! We will continue seeking His Word and spending time in prayer, and we will continue to seek out the church family that God has for us. We are still a part of the big church, and that in itself is a big boost to not be discouraged. We are all part of God's church, and that is a wonderful thought to dwell on. We are just looking for that little piece of believers where we can be put to good use for His Glory.

I have confidence in my God to us through to completion on this one. And in the meantime I will rest in Him and I will listen to what he has to say to me each and every day.

"My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him." Psalm 62:1