Arctic Hope

Sometimes we underestimate. Sometimes we overestimate. Sometimes it makes a big difference. Sometimes it doesn’t.

So how do you plan a summer of mission opportunity exploration flying all around the northwest part of Canada? How do you expect to get a trailer from Colorado Springs to Ft McPherson when you don’t even own a truck? How do you expect to bring the gospel to an area where the people have just enough of the Jesus virus to be inoculated against it? Well you make an estimate. You put together a convoluted plan that you have no reasonable expectation to work. You find out what you can from the people who ought to know. You go in faith.

I am a planner. I am a big picture guy. I sometimes launch out with a road map and a MasterCard but I do have a pretty good idea where I am headed. I often say, “If we don’t have it, we can buy it.” Sometimes I underestimate. Sometimes I overestimate. Sometimes I’m left trying to explain it to my wife. Sometimes she doesn’t care. Michelle is a detail person. I say, “Hey sweetie, let’s go to Canada.” She responds, “So what color towels should we take?” Huh???? Sometimes I want to hit the road and she wants to make sure that when we hit the road, we don’t actually ‘hit’ the road. I am blessed to have a detail person. She has kept me from ‘hitting’ the road many times. Thank you Lord!!

As a planner, I am often looking ahead. While doing the activity I have planned, I am thinking about the next one or the one next week or the one next month. As I am visiting with a pastor in Inuvik, I find myself thinking about the kids camp I will be working with next week. While working with the kids camp, I find myself thinking about the flights and long drive I will be making to get our travel trailer from Ft Simpson to Dawson City. Will the road be open or washed out? Will my drive be 36 hours or 48? “Yeah kid, Jesus loves you. Now sit down and pay attention (and stop bothering me, I’m thinking about important future stuff).”

I am mastering the fine art of accomplishing much, but enjoying it very little. I tend to live in future. You’ve been there. You think to yourself, “If I can just get this degree, then living can begin. If I can only pay off this car, this house, these braces, this college tuition, then living will begin. If I can only make it to retirement, then the living can begin.” Always planning. Always looking down the road. Always forgetting to truly rejoice at how good God has been to me. Always missing out on the joy of the moment.

What causes this? I could try and give you some spiritual sounding answer. I could tell you that such discontentment is natural because my citizenship is not here and I am looking forward to my heavenly home (Philippians 3:20). I could tell you that ‘the plans of the diligent succeed’ (Proverbs 21:5). I could tell you that God has laid great gifts and responsibility upon me and I must diligently fulfill His call.

All these sound spiritual. In the right context they are very true. But in this case it is a lie. You see, oftentimes my lack of joy in the moments God grants me comes from valuing things differently than He does. He loves me. He loves that kid that is bothering me. He loves the man or woman I will get to meet because my plans have been delayed or torpedoed. My Father takes great joy in those people. I tend to take great pleasure in getting things done, keeping the schedule, making it happen. Too often I miss the joy He had for me simply because I don’t really value those which He finds so important that He sent His Son to sacrifice for them.

Lord, please teach me to savor the blessings and amazing moments You grant. Teach me to love my neighbor as You do. Teach me to plan for the future while learning to find true joy in the daily ups and downs of journey. Teach me to celebrate with You and those around me when You have led me to a great victory or triumph. Teach me to savor the difficulties and learn to know You through these difficulties. Lord please teach me to find joy with You as I learn to live in the here and now and trust that my future is secure in Your Loving Hand. Lord, teach me to value what You value.

This week we got to visit a Baptist pastor in Inuvik. Faithfully serving in the North for almost 20 years, he led his church to plant daughter churches in Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk. He has a great heart to see people know Christ and receive eternal life. Steve is a classic case where I underestimated what God has been doing in Inuvik. I was greatly blessed and encouraged by our visit and look forward to seeking ways God may have us partner in the future.

Yesterday, we began assisting a day kids camp (VBS?) at the recreation center in Ft Simpson. The town has an openness to the gospel and God. We have been extremely well received. We anticipate God drawing many young hearts to himself this week and in the future. Planning has already begun for next year, with a desire to plant a church as God orchestrates.

In Ft Simpson we were blessed to meet Dan. Dan has an infectious joy that comes from a growing relationship with Christ. God has led Dan out of alcoholism and given him a vision to reach his people with a message of hope and freedom in Christ. Dan is the kind of person I have been asking God to bring across my path. Dan is the kind of person around whom Christ tends to build His church. Lord show us a way to help equip Dan to become a disciplemaker.

What’s next? Friday we will begin a tough week. We will travel to Rae, near Yellowknife. Then we will seek to travel to Prince Rupert (to pick up some ministry partners) and Dawson City on Saturday. In Dawson City, we will pick up a truck and drive it to Ft Nelson to meet our travel trailer. From there we will haul the trailer to Dawson City and pick up the airplane to return to Ft McPherson. On the 4th, our friend Paul Hanthorn will complete the journey of the trailer and we will have a home in Ft Mc. All of this is dependent on the weather, on the roads, on the mechanical condition of the airplane, the trailer and the truck. Even as I write this it seems a crazy scheme. But Lord, we made the best plan we could. We give it to you. (Proverbs 16:3) We trust you will show us a better plan if you choose. Please pray for us that God will grant us a joyful journey as we continue this adventure in His service. Please pray that I will learn to find joy in the successes and upsets that come our way. Lord teach us to rejoice always.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 16:38 and is filed under Summer of Exploration, Blogroll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.