Barely Getting Started
Quite honestly, I’m in a foul mood. I’m amazed how my husband has been so sweet to me in the midst of my grumpies. I’d scheduled to be away this week to try to hit some writing deadlines. But it feels like whatever could go wrong has gone wrong. It’s not really true, but I bet you know what I mean.Yesterday, after staring at one paragraph and rewriting it about a dozen times, I received a phone call. My normal protocol is to turn my phone off when I write… but I needed to take a specific call, so I was at the mercy of any ring. The news on the other side of the ring was a major detour to some ministry plans. After hanging up the phone, writing was the last thing I wanted to do.I wonder if you’ve had any occasions recently where your plans got detoured. Have you had those times where your mind is telling you one thing but your heart is telling you something else? That was me. Intellectually, I knew God wasn’t caught off guard and this detour could actually be for the best. I knew everything would work out, but I still struggled to adjust my heart. I’m ready to see this project birthed and this delay was not on my radar.I woke up this morning and felt the weight of the detour even before I got out of bed. I knew I needed to go sit with the Lord or I was going to make everyone miserable for a second day in a row. As I got done confessing my disappointment, frustration, lack of trust, and everything else you could imagine to God, I opened up my Bible to continue reading in Ezra 3. A group of Israelites had returned to rebuild the temple.Here's what I read in verses 10-11:
And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”
As I read these two verses, I couldn’t help but notice they were having this huge celebration… and yet only the foundation had been laid. They were barely getting started. There was still so much work to be done. It’s not like it was time for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand re-opening of the temple. This is a construction project, for crying out loud. Don’t they know the likelihood of delays? Weren’t they singing a little prematurely?Conviction flooded over me. There was conviction about way more than a bad attitude for a delayed project. As I mentally went through every area of my life, I noticed the theme. I’m still holding my breath; I’m still reserving my celebration to make sure the rest of the story unfolds the way I think it should. Instead of thanking God and acknowledging His faithfulness along the way, I hold back.I pray you would allow these questions to move you to join me in praising God for every step of our journey:
- You may not have the work success you desire yet, but how can you praise God for the ways He has sustained you so far?
- You may be nervous about the next season of parenting, but how can you stop and praise God for how His love has sustained you through the last season?
- Your marriage may be a work in progress, but can you stop and praise God that He is at work behind the scenes?
- Where else in your life have you forgotten to show gratitude and praise for the current step of the journey?
May we stop and celebrate that we have made it this far!