What an ending to 2018.
We never saw this one coming.
The journey of the Green family included a move to Tennessee to begin the process of building the conservatory. We finally entered into a contract on our home in early November. Long story short, we lost the contract 2 days prior to closing on December 19 as the buyers decided to walk away at the last minute. We had just signed a contract on a beautiful home in Sevierville, TN. Our belongings were on a moving truck on their way to Tennessee when we got the news. With an empty home, millions of questions, the holidays on top of us, others watching and questioning....we faced "critical mass." We lost the sale on our home. We lost the house in Tennessee. We now were faced with the thought of losing HIS favor.
"What did we do wrong?" "Does Father want us to stay put?" "Is this just one of the tests we will face?" "What could we have done differently?" "Does God really want His favor to rest on us?" The questions assaulted and bombarded us. Some of those questions we were able to bring to speech. The most painful ones we kept hidden behind cracked masks of confidence.
We remained in a state of shock and pain for several days as we attempted to navigate getting our belongings back and picking up the pieces with the aim to continue to move forward. The pressure that came to bear on me, as the leader of the family, became unbearable. I felt anxiety and fear replace the faith and confidence I was walking in for the past several months. My world had been rocked. My destiny was now in question.
Fast forward to today. It is now post New Year's (and, of course, the Buckeyes won the Rose Bowl. Sorry, I couldn't resist!) and we still have no answers. Let me invite you into a family meeting we had a few days ago. As we were voicing our ideas and what we felt the Lord was doing in our lives, we came to the conclusion that we needed to move past the questions and move forward. There will always be questions. And, yes, there are real answers to those questions. It's all about His timing and when He chooses to reveal the answers. Until then, we keep moving towards the goal. The goal is the upward call of God on our lives. Psalm 105:19 explains, "Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph's character." We so want our character to be like His. Resilient, faithful, loving, positive, believing, patient, effective.
Philippians 3:7-11 - "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."
It's hard to add to what the Apostle Paul stated above. To know Christ is EVERYTHING to us. We know these things: God is in control; Jesus guaranteed our inheritance through His death and resurrection; and the Holy Spirit gives us His peace and guidance as our faithful Comforter. We don't need worldly treasure or answers to every pressing question. Whatever happens in the next season, a New Year, is in His hands and in our hearts. The Greens will endeavor to remain faithful to the call on our lives. No set back will be viewed in a negative way.
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