Father Knows Best

All of us have been carrying heavy loads and I have not updated this blog as much as I would like. Please forgive me. In an attempt to catch you up to speed I will be doing my best to post pictures of the volunteers that have come through in the next few weeks.

With only a skeleton admin crew and the grace of God we have been able to help hundreds of families over the past few months. Only a handful of our congregation remain and out of that there are only a few who are able to actually work on a daily basis. Gail continues to balance her roles as church secretary, mom, wife, and interior decorator as her home continues to be rebuilt. Laura has been handling our relief administration and benevolence store full time as well as fielding phone calls and other duties. Michelle has worked hard to help feed volunteers in our home. Ashley fills in at the relief store from time to time, handling database work and phone calls as she’s able. Charles helps with the pastoral duties as well as relief crew organization while continuing his web site development work. And I wear multiple hats while anchoring my focus on study and prayer.

Our three resident men who have relocated to work here have been joined by Tim Kirkpatrick (Danny and Robert’s brother). Tim has just finished his tour of duty in the Marines and will be leaving us soon to head to Bible College. Travis will be leaving next month and we will be receiving John Kirkpatrick (yes, another brother ;) ) in August. We are extremely grateful for their service to the Lord and are thankful to God for all of these men and their commitment to service.

As we’ve received many work crews from various churches around the country and Canada who have come here to put feet to their faith and minister to our community; we now have a bouquet of new friends. Meeting members of our extended eternal family before glory is a joyous time of fellowship, refreshment, and edification.

One thing that I’ve come to see in full Technicolor is the truth of several Scriptures that relate to our experience at Sovereign Grace Fellowship.

Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The LORD nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. Psalm 33:8-10

Many plans are in a man's heart, but the counsel of the LORD will stand. Proverbs 19:21

We could never have orchestrated what has happened to us over the past eight months nor would we have chosen it. Yet, the Lord knows what we need, when we need it, and how we need to receive it. Each trial is yet another platform upon which we have another opportunity to grow and rise to the occasion. In short, life is the context in which our hearts are revealed and sometimes what we see scares the begeebees out of us. But we mustn’t retreat, recoil, or run. We must repent, refocus, and press on for the race will be won if we do not lose heart.

Sometimes solid biblical truths can seem like worn out clichés, but when such a monumental task sits before us in such an incredible context, the overwhelming nature of these times feels like a vise if you forget that His strength is made perfect in our weakness and that His grace is absolutely sufficient for us.

Being taken to school and the woodshed at the same time is when you know that your Father loves you the most (Hebrews 12:6) – a truth that only a new mind can comprehend and even then it stretches the limits of your sensibility.