Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Roll the Gospel Chariot Along

So, it's been awhile. Mainly because the Life of a Planters Wife is unpredictable as weather! We've had our house on the market for 5 1/2 LONG months. We have had a stream of picky and ecstatic potential buyers flowing through the doors at all hours of the day, nap-time not held sacred by the real estate agencies. We've had 4 offers, 2 contracts and not 1 closing day! We prayed; we fasted; we lowered prices; we packed up everything and we waited. My dad got married and moved out; we moved everyone downstairs; we had a garage sale. Nothing doing.

One night I was reading through my Bible study from The Upper Room I came upon a promise from Isaiah 45:2,
"I will go before you
and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,"
I was immediately struck that this was still God's Word to us. That whatever was keeping us from where He had us going, He was also perfectly sovereign over and capable of overcoming. So I wrote the verse on a piece of paper, and then wrote all over it the things keeping us from moving to Madison: selling the house, jobs in Madison, supporters, a place to live, etc. I then cut the paper in half, broke bread over it and took communion with my Lord over His Gospel being sufficient for even me. I felt secure it was in His hands.

That was 3 months ago.

Two weeks ago, things changed again. It became obvious that there was a blessed opportunity for my husband to finish a certification that he has been working on for a few years. Finishing this certification would open up some lucrative and less-time consuming work opportunities. Finishing this certification means staying here. But at the same time I remembered the verse, communion and the peace I had experienced. I felt the same overwhelming message, "God is sovereign over this and perfectly capable of overcoming any obstacles." I have often said it is difficult to tell the difference between a roadblock from Satan and a closed door from God--they feel the same. The difference, I've discovered, is that a closed door WILL NOT open, but a roadblock WILL NOT remain. So, I told my husband, "If God wanted us to sell the house, He could have done it 5 months ago. We would have been in Madison before the ink was dry. If it's not selling, it's because God has something else in mind right now. I don't hear 'No', just 'Not yet'. Let's be faithful and wait on God until strength rises."

So that's what we're doing. We're following God still. He's driving this crazy train and I'm just sitting back eating my popcorn. Until May, the Hartnagles are in Temple, TX. Was that our plan? Nope. Was it God's? Apparently! So here we are doing the only thing HE has ever asked of us: being obedient. Not through our strength or from our motives or for our glory but His. And as long as we're here, we're going to love on people, get to know our neighbors more, bless our city, live out the Gospel.

We're rolling with the Gospel, and that's how we roll!

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