Appointment in Jerusalem!?

A section of the Western Wall. I currently have this exact picture as a wall hanging in our Dining Room. A daily reminder of the Holy City.

This Shabbat I re-read Appointment in Jerusalem by Lydia and Derek Prince. It is an amazing story of trust and faith and obedience. I was really impacted by the message the book shares. We serve a faithful God who is able to direct His children... if they choose to listen to them.

God places an unrest within Lydia that she cannot ignore. Even though she is successful she eventually walks on the path God places her on, even though she is ridiculed. Eventually she gives up everything she has and goes to Jerusalem, where she believes God is sending her. Though there are difficulties on the road, she is faithful to go where God directs, even against her 'better judgement'. Even to the point of taking on the care of a dying child, with no prior knowledge of children.

Again in our journey we are at a crossroad. Do we obey, or do we use worldly wisdom to discern what to do? We have spent a lot of time talking about this. I feel that it is very easy to use wisdom as an excuse to not do what God is asking you to do, because it can feel so irresponsible.

Let's back up to the beginning of January. I've been praying earnestly for the Lord to grant us the privilege to go and visit my parents. It's been a hard year and there are not funds to fly our large family to South Africa. Very unexpectedly a good friend gifted us with money to fly to South Africa. How amazing, such a miracle. But this opened up a whole new can of worms. Do we give up this house where we have been staying? Do we go to South Africa for three or six months? We could keep this house for three months, but not for six. So, yet again, God is picking us up and moving us, and are we willing to pack our lives up again, only to possibly come back to the UK with no home of our own...?

This quote in the book really stood out:

Denmark (the world) is full of Spiritual cripples who heard the call of God but were afraid to step out in faith. Mr Konrad

Personally, although I hope God will use us for his purposes, sometimes I feel really useless. We are not doing anything out of the ordinary, really, sometimes I feel like we are just surviving. But perhaps this particular journey is not so much about doing anything special, but more about learning important lessons that we will need in the future. Only God knows.

This really has been a journey of learning. We are learning to talk about important matters instead of reacting. We are learning to delve into the deep recesses of our hearts, to lift the dirt up and let God clean us up. Painful but necessary.

I know of many people who are really struggling with so many problems and difficulties. Hold on and and persevere. There will be victory, if we keep doing good and don't lose heart.

Children having fun digging on our local beach.