The forty-year move

Grand Sweep Daily Reading: Deuteronomy 1, 2, 3; Psalm 48

Deuteronomy 2:7 (NIV)
7 The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast desert. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.

Psalm 48:1 (NIV)
1 Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, His holy mountain.

Acts 17:28 (NIV)
28 For in Him, we live and move and having our being.

Good morning!

Do you enjoy the challenges of moving? Jeff and I have had lots of “moving” experiences in our thirty years of marriage. We moved out of our parents’ homes and into an apartment together after we were married. One year later, we moved from St. Louis, Missouri, to Dallas, Texas, to the campus of Perkins School of Theology at SMU. About six months after we settled into the dorm, Jeff was appointed as a part-time pastor to a growing United Methodist Church forty miles east of Dallas, and we moved into their church parsonage. When Jeff graduated three years later, we moved back to Missouri. In full-time ministry after seminary, Jeff has pastured five Missouri United Methodist congregations. Moving has become an art form for us. I’ve learned how to pack and unpack our home in record time. Let’s face it - moving your family is hard work. It takes great physical and emotional stamina, flexibility, and good organizational skills with a game plan that includes not only a plan a, but plans b through z. We’ve moved in winter ice and snow. We moved in 100 degree temperatures in mid-June. Every move has had its own unique and memorable challenges. I can say, in all honesty, that every move has brought forth blessing after blessing in our life. If you have trouble seeing the silver lining on moving day, sometimes, you just need to know where to look.

Our daughter Rachel and son-in-law Dave moved their home this week. This was an interesting move for them. Rachel and Dave have 2.7 children; we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of a brand new baby who should make its debut in the next few weeks. Their family has fallen in love with the community where they live. They have been blessed with some great neighbors. Their children are close friends with the children who reside in their subdivision. Rachel and Dave had an opportunity to purchase a larger home just up the street from where they were living. This home would give them the much-needed space for their rapidly expanding family. On Wednesday, Dave’s firefighting community and Rachel’s co-workers from her radiology clinic converged upon the Dacus home and helped to physically move their stuff from one house to the other. They made the move in one full day, carrying their furnishings, clothing, and collectibles up the hill and across the street.

Can you imagine picking up your home and moving it around whenever the Lord said to go? This was the forty-year journey of our Israelite brothers and sisters. They wandered around the desert, guided by the cloud of the Lord and His command to move on. When God said to go, the Israelites simply packed up their tents and went. They may have only traveled a couple of miles across the desert before the Lord would command them to stop and set up housekeeping. Has God ever asked you to move out in faith for Him? Have you heard the Lord calling out to you to pack up your tent, and move into unknown territory? Were you willing to go?

No matter where I am, I rely upon the Lord’s leading for my life. I know that when I listen and obey Him, I find peace, contentment and joy in the journey. I may not always know where He is taking me; yet, I choose to live and move and have my very being planted in the center of His love. Following the Lord Jesus Christ is worth any inconvenience, difficulty or challenge. Living outside of His love is not where I want to be. I trust Him in all things, even when He calls me to move out of my comfort zone and step up in faith for Him.

Are you ready to move? Can you hear the Lord calling out to you? Will you go with a happy heart, seeking His direction for your life? What would it take for you to pack up your tent and follow Him?

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding
www.songofdeborah.com

Pray for: courage to answer God’s call to go! When His love burns like unquenchable fire in your heart, will you stand up and say, “Here I am, Lord. Send me!” Have a happy moving day in the light of His love.
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