Last week was the first week of the fall term here in the Boston Extension. As you all (most likely) know I have been in the Full-Time Training in Anaheim for the last two years, commonly referred to as a Bible school. Well I have now entered into the third year extension of that training where the focus is more on service, specifically on the college campuses.
The trainees were asked to present to the churches in the area how the Lord has led us to come to the third year. As I was before the Lord considering what He has taken me through to get me here, I realized that I was only here because of Him. This was nothing that originated from myself. It is a mercy to be called by the One you love to follow them. I am not here because of any extraordinary credentials or abilities, but I have simply been captivated by His beauty.
Having said this, I would like to share something that I realized this week: I live the most blessed and joyful life as one called by the Lord. This realization came out of a wrestling within in my being. For the past week the Lord’s longing to return quickly has been very real to me; and Honestly my first reaction was fear. Thoughts such as:” but I am not ready,” “but what about all the things in life I have not yet done,” “there are so many things in the world I still love” and so on, have been pressing down on me. It is paralyzing. Yet, the Lord is faithful to comfort, to heal, and to love. He knows. He knows my unwillingness to yield to Him in the little things (such as not shopping for clothing articles that I obviously do not need), he knows my fears, and even of my longings for the future. As I have been battling with this He has been speaking to me freshly in the mornings and throughout the day through His word, through the members of the Body, and through His sovereign arrangements.
Actually it was through my new service assignment that I came to the realization that I have nothing to fear but that I have everything to rejoice about. I have been assigned to serve on the Boston University campus. When I received my assignment, I was filled with inexplicable joy. As I got together with my new team and was informed of the work on that campus in the past year, that joy was fueled. And today as we walked around the campus and met a couple of students, I was beyond myself in joy. Today He has filled me with joy. I realized it is this joy that supplies me for serving Him, that makes me not care about these questions, fears, and anxieties in my being. It is truly joy unspeakable! Nothing compares and nothing can touch this joy. “You are not ready for the Lord to come back, you love the world, you have not had so many things and experiences this world has to offer” says the liar. Well, I am full of joy! What are these things to someone who has the greatest joy possible!? They are dung. I have counted the cost, and it is nothing compared to the joy I have tasted. This joy is priceless!
I have come to the Fountain of Joy;
His delight is the strength of my heart.
My delight is unmixed with alloy,
My sunshine can never depart.
The fig tree may wither and die,
Earth’s prospects and pleasures decline;
But my fountains can never be dry-
My portion, my joy is divine.
-Hymn 523, Stanza 4
Much grace to you all,
