One of the challenges in the Christian life is the art of waiting. It is especially frustrating when we want to move ahead with our plans and hope that God will catch up. I have been waiting for God's direction regarding my next season of ministry and I have to confess it hasn't been easy. I have seen what appear to be potential opportunities that I would like to pursue, however deep down I know I need to wait for God to move. Recently, God reinforced my need to wait in a passage from the book of Numbers. In Numbers 9:15-23 Israel is making their way to the Promised Land. God's presence is manifested in the pillar of cloud that covered the Tabernacle during the day and the pillar of fire at night. In Numbers 9:17-18 we read, "Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord's command the Israelites set out, and at His command they encamped."NIV (italics mine) The Israelites remained in whatever place they were led until the cloud lifted from above the Tabernacle. They didn't try to continue the journey on their own or according to their time table. The Israelites waited for the Lord to move without knowing where their next stop would be or for how long. We read, "Sometimes the cloud was over the Tabernacle only a few days...Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening to morning...Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month, or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out." (Numbers 9:21-22 NIV)
We Follow When God Moves
What caught my attention was no matter how long or short the period of sojourn was, when God moved, the Israelites followed. What we sometimes fail to appreciate is the huge challenge that movement presented for the Israelites. There were thousands of people having to pack up their belongings and get ready to go. Additionally, the Tabernacle had to be taken down and set back up in the next place God led the people. I can only imagine that at times the Israelites may have become frustrated when their sojourn in a new place was only for two days and they had to pack up and move after having settled down. It has similarly been frustrating for me and somewhat disheartening that I find myself on the move just when I think I have settled for a long period of time into a new church community. However, like the Israelites I need to wait for God to move and sometimes the wait is short, sometimes long, and sometimes unexpected. The Israelites knew they would not ultimately be settled until they reached the Promised Land. Right now I don't have a sense of feeling settled but I must wait until God's cloud is "lifted" and then I need to move with Him.
Jesus Calls Us To Move
Jesus mirrors the same principle in the New Testament. He called His disciples then and now to "follow Me." Jesus' call is both literal and spiritual. Literally, we are to follow Jesus to whatever place He calls us to minister in his name whether inside or outside of the church community. Spiritually, Jesus calls us to follow His commands and emulate His way of life that we may deepen our relationship with Him and serve others. When a teacher of the law declared that he would follow Jesus wherever he went, Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." (Matthew 8:18-20 NIV) Right now, I have no place to "lay my head" but I need to follow the Lord's pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. I need to stay wherever God has called me to serve for whatever length of time God determines and move when He determines, after that time is finished. It is easy to focus on the past and what was, versus looking forward to what God has for us in the future. Isaiah and Paul sum it up best, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV) "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Phillipians 3:13b-14 NIV) May we trust God to lead and guide us in His perfect timing.
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Sheree
"For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His sacred tent and set me high upon a rock." (Psalm 27:5)
On January 21, 2019 we will once again recognize and celebrate Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy. Dr. King fought for the rights of black Americans who were experiencing discrimination and segregation. However, prior to Dr. King's achievements there were many others who fought for the rights and freedoms of black Americans. Among them were many notable women. Sojourner Truth who was born a slave in Hurley, New York and worked as a servant, became a powerful voice against slavery. She felt God's call to a greater mission as an abolitionist. As a result she began a ministry as an itinerant preacher delivering God's judgment against the evils of slavery and in time she joined this theme with a commitment to women's rights. Sojourner Truth, like Dr. King faced great opposition and at times violent mobs. Yet she never doubted slavery would end and was present in the capital in 1865 when Congress ratified the constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. Her struggle for freedom and equality continued until the day she died on November 26, 1883 at the age of 86 years.
"Black Moses"
Similarly, Harriet Tubman who was often referred to as the black "Moses" of her time was the "conductor" hero of the Underground Railroad. She, like Sojourner Truth was also born a slave. In December 1849, she escaped from slavery and began rescuing slaves in 1850. She helped lead dozens of runaway black slaves to freedom, including her own parents who were led to freedom in 1857. In April 1858 she was introduced to abolitionist John Brown, who unlike Dr. King, advocated the use of violence to destroy slavery in the United States. When the war ended, Harriet Tubman retired to her family home and like Sojourner Truth became active in the women's suffrage movement. In January 1863 shortly after the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation, she became the commander of the team in charge of espionage. In March 1913, Harriet Tubman died at the age of 93 of pneumonia in the Home for Aged Colored People that she helped found. The home was later renamed in her honor.
"Sanctuary"
When we look at the church today, some still question why black people form separate congregations. Hated for their skin color, black people rarely found love, acceptance, and safety outside family except in one place: the Black church. At Sunday worship, Wednesday prayer meetings, Friday youth nights, summer day camps--the historically Black church was a true sanctuary from a time of terror and rejection. As a black woman pastor, I can understand the feelings of rejection. It is difficult to find true sanctuary when color, gender, and/or giftedness becomes a barrier to ministry. Yet like, my abolitionist sisters before me, I seek the only sanctuary and shelter that sees me as a daughter of the King. In Psalm 27, David declares three promises from the Lord in times of trouble. He will keep me safe in His dwelling, He will hide me in the shelter of His sacred tent, and He will set me high upon a rock. (verse 5) It's a comfort to know that like the church which sheltered the black slaves, the Lord is a sheltering God. He is, was, and will always be a sanctuary to all needing refuge.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
Pastor Sheree
We are in the season of Advent and Christmas is a few days away. Advent is a time of expectation where once again we wait for the first coming of the Lord as a baby born in Bethlehem. If we think about it, Advent is not just something that occurs every December but it is pervasive throughout the Bible. The overriding theme of Advent is wondering, watching, and waiting. Some Biblical examples highlight this theme. The Lord made a covenant with Abram in Genesis 15 that his descendants would one day be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Abram must have wondered what God was talking about but we are told that, "Abram believed the Lord, and He credited to him as righteousness." (Genesis 15:6) After Abram, whom God renamed Abraham (Genesis 17) was visited by three men near the great trees of Mamre he and his wife Sarah were told they would give birth to a son the following year. Sarah was so skeptical given their advanced ages that she laughed. (Genesis 18) However, Abraham and Sarah watched and waited for God's promise to be fulfilled. (Genesis 21)
Expectations Fulfilled
Joseph wondered about the dreams God had given him indicating he would one day be a great ruler, even over his own family. (Genesis 37) Over the course of 13 years, he watched and waited for his dreams to become a reality despite many situations and circumstances that seemed to work against him. (Genesis 39-45) The book of Exodus chronicles how the Israelites wondered where God was in the midst of their oppression and suffering under Egypt's Pharaoh. They had been watching and waiting for over 400 years for a deliverer to set them free from their slavery. Their deliverer did come when God called Moses to go to Egypt to set the people free. (Genesis 3) The Advent theme of wondering, watching, and waiting finds its ultimate fulfillment in the birth of Christ. As Isaiah declares, "The people walking in darkness (wondering, watching, waiting) have seen a great light; on those living in a land of deep darkness a light has dawned...For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:2,6 italics mine)
What's your Advent season?
I have recently entered a new season in pastoral ministry as I wonder, watch, and wait with expectation for what God is going to do in my personal "advent." What about you? Are you experiencing your own "advent" season of wondering, watching, and waiting? If so, expect great things to come as Immanuel (God with us) will bring it to pass just like He did thousands of years ago in Bethlehem and God is faithful!
Merry Christmas and A Blessed New Year!
Pastor Sheree
