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A faithful presence of love in the absences of our city.

God Speaks, Goodness Abounds

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God Speaks,Goodness Abounds

Sunday’s sermon, “For You!” was aptly titled. I don’t know if you’ve ever sat in service during the sermon and thought, “This one’s definitely for me; everyone else should probably go ahead and go home now.” That’s pretty much what I was thinking just a few minutes into this week’s sermon. Thankfully, nobody read my mind! Everyone stayed and, in God’s grace, received their own edification.


Early on Justin asked the question, “Where is it hard for you to trust God in your life?” My internal response was, “Where is it not hard to trust God?” But I understand what he was asking; there are times-- and attached circumstances-- that we go through where we find it especially difficult to trust God. Of course, it’s not that God is any less trustworthy in any particular circumstance. God is faithful, and He’s unchanging. But we, or I, am always changing. And I am often forgetting about the faithfulness of God, especially God’s faithfulness to me!


I guess this is why I can so relate to the Wilderness Generation of Israel. I mean, they experienced such an amazing deliverance by God in their exodus from Egypt! And they even had a visible manifestation of God’s ongoing presence with them as they moved on from the Red Sea and into the Wilderness via the cloud and the pillar of fire. But as days rolled into weeks, rolled into months, rolled into years—they found it harder and harder to trust God. It’s not that God was any less present to them or working any fewer miracles of deliverance and preservation among them over those years; it’s just that they stopped seeing Him. They stopped recognizing His faithfulness to them. And I do the same thing.


To answer Justin’s question (because he asked it again at the end of the sermon!), the place I’m finding it hardest to trust God is in the daily workings of my business. As a self-funded entrepreneur, I often find myself wondering, “Will we make it?” If a client cancels or a large-account project gets delayed, I start to worry about bills and finances, etc. Even on the jobsite—if I’ve done something dumb and dangerous—my tendency is to call curses on my own head rather than shout thanks to God for preserving my life and limb. I’m not seeing Him there. So, I struggle trusting. And yet, despite that, God continues blessing. He has met our every need, and then some! He’s not only preserved our bodies (Karen and I), but He’s made us stronger and healthier than at any time in our marriage. You see, God is unceasingly good—even in His discipline and correction—and I just lose
sight of it.


Of course, Genesis 1 is spoken to a people like me, to me, and to us. God’s response to their/my/our lack of trust in Him is to tell His-story. He reminds me that while I grumble, He speaks. And when God speaks, goodness abounds. Even goodness for me, the grumbler. He reminds me that He made the world and that He’s placed me in it, right where I’m at. That having prepared a place for me, He holds all things together around me. He reminds me that, if I’ll stop to look and listen, then I’ll see and hear the beauty of the world around me. That beauty is meant to point me to its Source. If I can see the present beauty then I can rest in His presence.


Of course, the greatest reminder that He gives us came after the sermon when Pastor Justin invited us to the Communion Table. In the Bread and the Cup we have a tangible reminder of the God who became flesh and blood among us, and for us, in Christ Jesus. Week after week, God so graciously reminds me that He loves me, that He’s called me, that my life is hidden with Christ in Him. May I, and we, learn to hear Him, see Him, and trust Him even more this week! Amen.

~ Daniel Gettemy

1 Comment

I have missed your preaching so very much, I was glad to find this post. I agree that we can so easily lose sight of the fact that the Lord has us in His hands and is guiding us. Especially when there doesn't seem to be any guiding going on! But He is the chessmaster in the sky and when He gets all the pieces in place then things happen very rapidly, we have to hang on!! Best wishes to you and Karen!!

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