not a cloud in the sky.
mountains in every direction.
yes please!
couldn't pass up the opportunity to sit outside and read. after all, didn't the newspaper recently say we only get 78 sunny days a year?
in other news, i've been reading the bible through chronologically since january 1st. i started a bible in a year plan in january 2010 and enjoyed it quite a bit because it led me through parts of the bible that i don't naturally gravitate toward. i didn't grow up studying the bible, so i get pretty fuzzy when it comes to biblical history, hence why i decided to read it through chronologically. since the bible is out of order with respect to time, i figured it would help me to pull together the big picture in a more complete sense. well, so far i've only read genesis, job, and the first few chapters of exodus, but it's been so neat to (a) see the things i picked up on and the notes that i've made in the past, and (b) see that the more i read and study it, the more i am able to see the faithfulness of God in his big picture plan for his creation.
what has been most on my mind lately is that He provided for his people in ways that they couldn't have seen or known ahead of time. they obeyed in faith, sometimes even with grumbling, and he was faithful to provide, because he had a plan. this has been a lesson for me, as i always want to see how i can provide for myself, a sinful mentality rooted in idolizing security. this idea is one that has been coming up in more than one area of my life, and it plays itself out in my desire to control. whether that's my schedule, time, money, or those around me, it's all rooted in a lack of faith that even when my life is spinning out of control and i am powerless to reign it in to a place where i feel comfortably in charge, God is ALWAYS faithful to provide, even if it's in ways or times that i would never have expected.
and the best part is, his provision isn't just to meet our needs. it certainly does do that, but it's also part of a much bigger purpose and plan. as i've been reading through genesis, i've seen how God didn't just save joseph from a cistern in the desert so that he wouldn't die there. being kidnapped by his brothers and sold as a slave into egypt wasn't an accident, but rather part of the plan, though who knows if joseph was thinking that at the time. God saved him in that way at that time so that, in turn, the entire nation of israel could be saved from 7 years of famine. and then he continued to act on his promise, leading his people out of slavery in egypt "by a strong hand" so that they could continue to live out his purposes for his glory. and that's where i am now, in exodus 15.
in the same sense, i am where i am for a purpose, and i am part of a bigger plan. life isn't about living in comfort or with status. joseph lived as a slave for much of his life, unable to see the bigger picture until it unfolded before his eyes. Jesus came and lived a life that wasn't glamorous, and ultimately was murdered for speaking truth that inconvenienced people from the selfish purposes they so deeply desired. again, all for a purpose. Jesus died not simply so that we would be able to gain salvation (thought that in itself is magnificent), but that we can live as part of His plan. that we would be filled with the Holy Spirit, enabling us to know the Father in a very personal way. that we would be consistently refined and made more in his likeness. and to enable us to seek and obey the very things he asks of us.
i'm thankful that He doesn't just leave us in our mess. he takes it, and rather than just clean it up and move on, he shows us that He is enough even if things are always messy. because there is a bigger plan, and i'm humbled to be a part of it.
love,
tracey
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