Re-entry

Shocks, shocks, everywhere and what will happen next!!

It appears we are living in uncertain or exciting times, depending on how you view the world today. Coming home from a foreign country to learn to live again in an Australian environment certainly adds to that mix and we have certainly felt the brunt of the uncertainty that comes with that. Rising fuel prices, re-enrollment for taxation, gas and water bills, electricity connection, telephone and broadband for the internet let alone the council rates the garbage pick-ups and all that comes with assimilating into our home again. On top of this are the other things of family life and death which is enough to give anyone ulcers. (Not to mentioned Wall St.)

This is the “baggage” that one has to handle on what they call “Re-entry” after having lived in another culture for many years. Is it any wonder that one tends to become a bit of a recluse, trying not to venture too far away from known ground to that dark unknown of the unfamiliar?

This reminds me of what happened to Jonah in ancient times. He, it seems took the long road to where God wanted him to end up. On top of this he was supposed to be involved in preaching a message of warning to a group of “heathen” as he saw them and an undeserving lot at that. Yes he went through a bunch of stuff including a one way trip the wrong way, a violent storm that nearly wrecked their cruse and he ended up having lunch with or should I say being the lunch of a great fish. It was just as well God was the one in control or he may never have reached Nineveh! Oh, hang on, was that a good thing? You might say he was in very unfamiliar territory.

Again we ask ourselves, “Well what is the right direction?” This unfamiliar territory can be quit frightening as it was for Jonah. For him it was foreign and seemed to go against everything he was raised to believe. After all these Ninevites were not God’s people were they? It went against everything he believed in, unfortunately in self righteousness! It does make me think of our own position and attitudes though.

What was God trying to get through to Jonah? After Jonah preached at Nineveh God ended up planting a rather quick growing bush behind him where he sat sulking. God give Jonah shade from the exceeding hot sun he found himself under. Well that was great; you could say that it means, “… my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) Trouble is the next day God sent a worm to eat up Jonah’s shade. Well you could surmise that “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21 - NKJV)

What Jonah was blind to was not God’s provision for his benefit, rather Jonah needed (and WE need) to simply recognize that everything is according to God’s will and NOT ours. God will do whatever He wishes and if we see that as unfair well let me say that there is no way we will be preaching to God or complaining when we stand before Him in eternity!! I think God will be the only one doing the talking, we will only be able to listen.

The bottom line, -- No matter what we do, no matter who we are and no matter what our situation, God alone is in control! In the book of James it reads, “Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” (James 4:15)

Presently we are doing a whole lot of house renovations and just waiting, perhaps a little impatiently to see what ministry God has for us in future. It would be good to add to this some time soon and tell just how God has directed.
Until then,

Uroo.