It’s really happening, isn’t it?
The seared longing in my heart to minister to the poor in spirit does not manifest itself from craziness or a zealous act of selfishness. God is making this happen, and He’s asking me to jump on board.
But praise the Lord -- like the anxiety relieved upon Elijah at first sight of His remnant, He’s not asking me to do this alone. Again, praise the Lord!
Within the fear that drives me to the brink of depression, amidst a community operating upon the fragile guise of health and composure, there remain a people bent on giving God the firstfruits of their lives. It’s beautiful enough to break my heart. He is releasing the army I never conceived in my doubt. Through the duration of my toil -- training, arming, inspiring… always inspiring -- God effortlessly pronounces the day of the LORD with a single call. A generation too removed from the comfort afforded by Egyptian slavery, they stomp about the Jericho perimeter with an unshakable fervor. This is not the rah-rah consummation of the 20th century worship service; rudimentary walls cannot enclose the uncommon act of obedience. The only sound is the perfectly designed work of the Holy Spirit.
All along I’d been the bridge and had not owned it. I spotted the great chasm of the valley of death, and considered how I’d leap to the other side. God began strengthening my back. Even then, I attempted to vault the massive lug across the divide. But what should await me on the other side? If I were to go this alone, wouldn’t I take sullen refuge beneath the juniper, waiting for my demise?
God asks me to lie down. Stretching out the untapped length of my arms, I reach the lump of rock on the other side and His people climb upon me. He wouldn’t have me bear the burden of carrying them to the other side. No. He directs the troop to piggyback my struggle for privileged access to the Promised Land.
Once they have passed, I realize my work is done. It was never for me. His blessed eternal kingdom reverberates in my bones. A renewed Body glances behind the construction zone, just enough to see the chariot of fire take me away.
I rest.
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