Stuck

Ever feel... stuck?

Sometimes we find ourselves stuck, stuck living with the consequences of someone else’s choices, or our own bad choices from years ago, choices we’ve apologized for and repented of, but we’re still stuck, stuck in a situation where it looks like we just have to accept that we’re limited in our ability to reach God, to serve Him, to be useful or fruitful. Sometimes we are stuck… and being stuck like that… well, it just sucks.

But even if the circumstances we’re stuck in just don’t seem fair, God has a plan, He really does. And if you're feeling stuck, I hope you will find encouragement in the story of Jael in Judges 4.

Here was a woman stuck, stuck in a tent living with a man who had separated himself, not only from his own tribe, but also the tribes of Israel, and instead had aligned himself with the enemies of the people of God. But God had a plan, and it involved the very circumstances she was stuck in... Because she was living on the outskirts, and because her husband had made peace with Israel's enemy, Jael was in the perfect position to lure the enemy in and kill him, ensuring victory for Israel.

She was in the right place at the right time with the right tools and circumstances, but knowing how we humans are, I'm guessing she didn't wake up that day thinking she was perfectly placed for God's plan, and that she was on the verge of performing a task that would gain her a lofty status along with all the other great heroes of Israel.

So, where are you stuck today? What are your circumstances? Look around you... you may be in the right place at the right time, on the verge of a tremendous victory for God's glory.

I hope you are encouraged, as I am, to "stick" it out today, to know there's a bigger picture and to value our circumstances a little differently.

Happy November morning, Lake Orion!

Sitting outside for a bit...in my jacket, yes, but sipping strong black coffee and watching the sun rise over the lake. Full DayLight is coming, church... Are you eagerly looking forward to His coming?

Echo's Dual Vision

Today we heard again about the dual vision here at Echo Lake Orion... Here's an excerpt from the sermon...

"Echo Lake Orion will be a place for training home fellowship leaders, and it will be a place for gathering the home fellowships together during various festivals throughout the year. Each home fellowship will have it’s own focus, a “dual vision” that holds to the first vision of multiplication, but that seeks to accomplish it by way of a secondary vision that is unique to that body. At Echo Lake Orion, He’s shown us our secondary vision is to be a place for raising up children’s ministers and child ministers. He is sending us children from this community so that they might be equipped and sent out as leaders in their generation. We’ve heard from Him for years that this place is a “seedbed” for leadership, a place to temporarily plant many little seeds which will eventually take root in a vast, unknowable number of locations."