Phil 1:29

"For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only

to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake..."

Last Blast *Kaboom*

(photo credit: Ernest Lam)

Thank you, Long Beach Navs, for an amazing past two years as a student, friend, and brother involved in all your guys' lives! Thinking about the past two years makes me so excited for next year it's ridiculous! It's gonna be legen...wait for it....(and I hope you're not allergic because the next word is...)

DARY! :)

Heading towards the EDGE

I've known since June 6, 2009 that God was calling me to do EDGE with the Navigators, inviting me to pursue Him out of the comfortable and into the unknown and trust him with everything. There's been a HUGE freedom in that knowledge and being able to rest securely in the knowledge that the path before me is laid out. In a lot of ways, that's been one of the major themes of these past two years: God knows where I'm going, so it's ok if I don't as long as I know HIM. He is worthy of my trust and has known before I was even conceived what I would be doing with my life.

However, knowing that I'm supposed to pursue doing EDGE does not equate to knowing everything about next year. There are still a million things that I just don't know the answer to, not even counting the ten million things that aren't even on my radar yet! Among those things that I didn't know was what campus I'd be serving at.

Another major theme for this season of my life has been waiting and hoping in God. Here, just as in other areas, God asked me to be content with not knowing. From a comment that my interviewer made I figured I'd find out where I'd be placed somewhere between mid-March to mid-April. March came and left. April came as well, and was well on its way to leaving and being replaced by May. Still no word.

Finally, during the last week of April that uncertainty changed: for about two weeks now I've known what campus I'll be serving at next year. I've told those of you who asked me directly about it what I know, but I haven't gone around shouting it to you whether you want to know or not :).

I feel that it's been long enough for me to process a bit about the decision to share it.

Next year I'll be on staff with the Navigators here at CSULB! I'm not ignorant of the fact that there are definitely pros and cons to being at ANY school, Long Beach included, but I can't help be anything but excited :). The best part is that it definitely fits into something I distinctly felt God tell me almost four years ago (which will either be in the next blog post or something that I share at Navnite on Tuesday...not sure which yet).

I'm excited for what God has planned for both me and those around me next year. As this season of my life comes to a close, the growth and fruitfulness that I see as I look back makes me just that much more excited about where He's taking me. My prayer for next year echoes Daniel's prayer just after God revealed the interpretation of the king's dream to him:

"Daniel said, 'Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,

F

or wisdom and power belong to him.

It is he that changes the times and the epochs;

He removes and establishes kings;

He gives wisdom to wise men,

And knowledge to men of understanding.

It is he who reveals the profound and hidden things;

He knows what is in the darkness,

And the light dwells with Him.

To You, O thou God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,

For You have given me wisdom and power;

Even You have made known unto us the king's matter.' "

~Daniel 2:20-23

From Mourning to Morning

In Psalm 57, David is in the midst of difficult times. Trouble surrounds him and he has nowhere to turn except God. Anointed as the rightful king of Israel but waiting on God's timing, David is pursued by Saul through the desert again and again, day after day. "My soul is among lions," he says. "I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword" (verse 4).

David's first thought is not to focus on himself but rather to exalt God. How easy would it be to curse God for orchestrating where he finds himself? Does not God make everything come to pass? Could not God have kept David from hardship and danger? Why doesn't God make David king now instead of later? But David doesn't take this path, perhaps because he's already been there time and time again and it has become part of his character to respond in this manner to God. He's already tended his father's flocks and protected them from the bears and lions. He's already slain Goliath, armored and protected by the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. But whatever the reason, instead of lashing out and losing faith, David praises God. "Be exalted above the heavens, O god; Let Your glory be above all the earth" (v 5).

David is prepared to wait for what God has in store for him, and joyfully at that. "My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes I will sing praises" he proclaims (v 7). Nothing can move his heart and steal the faith and joy he finds in trusting the Lord. Nothing can keep him from singing out the praises of the God who has been with him and who promises such good things to him.

David's heart literally overflows with praise for God and he cannot contain it. This is my favorite part of the Psalm-David stirs his heart and soul in a jubilant cry of praise and exaltation. "Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn" (v 8, emphasis mine). David sings in the dark of night, ushering in the morning with his strains of melodic praise. How can David sing so jubilantly? How, when it's so dark all around him, can he eagerly expect the breaking of the dawn? The answer is that the morning symbolizes God's continual faithfulness and love for us.

There's an old adage that says it's always darkest just before the dawn. David therefore sees the growing darkness around him as just a precursor to God's glory breaking through. The current troubles are just a prelude to God's might and power displayed for all to see. The darker it gets around him and around us, the brighter God's glory will be when He acts. And the morning is coming-there's no way to stop it!

David sings a song of Truth and a song of Hope-he knows the end, and so do we. Let us therefore sing along with him, extolling the Lord our God even (especially) when we don't even have enough light to see.

"For His anger is but for a moment,

His favor is for a lifetime;

Weeping may last for the night,

But a shout of joy comes in the morning."

~Psalm 30:5