“You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do” (Psalm 139:3 NLT).
My ten-year-old granddaughter sobbed into the phone, “But, Daddy, I’m worried.” Departing on a humanitarian mission, her father (my son) sat on the tarmac ready to blast off to the other side of the world, headed for India. My granddaughter understood the importance of her daddy’s work and the benefit to those he was going to encourage—at least as much as a ten year old can comprehend; but she was certain he would be in danger. In desperation, she had called him from her cell phone after I’d tucked her into bed. I can relate.
Anytime our loved ones depart from the routine of our day-to-day lives and travel away from us, we somehow feel as if they are more at risk. Unaccountably, we feel as though they can’t come to harm when they are in our proximity, as if we, puny humans that we are, can somehow keep them safe from harm by our mere presence. I had felt that very fear grasp at my heart as my son, his wife, and my husband headed off just hours before this tear-filled phone call.
“Lord,” I had prayed, “I love you. I yield up my family to you. Again. Use them for your glory. They’re not mine; only you can bring them back to me, if it’s your will. With my whole heart, I offer them to you, my Master.”
Only God knows what his plans are. We serve him because we adore him—this beautiful Savior who left his comfort and glory in heaven to put on human flesh in order to shed his blood and redeem us. He works out the plan that will bring his chosen ones into his kingdom. We play our part for the flash of time we’re on the stage, a bit part among the myriad of other players. And then our opportunity to have an impact for his glory and his kingdom is finished.
And so, some of us travel to help others far away and some of us stay home, praying and rolling up our sleeves on the home-front. What we do here on earth will count for eternity, both in the lives of those we impact and, after we’ve gone to be with Christ, on our satisfaction with the service we gave the Master.
As we have the privilege to participate in his glorious plan, our family members are in no greater danger in India or any other far-flung corner to which they trek than they are when “safely” by our sides. Our lives are in God’s hands as much when we’re cozy in our warm beds at home as they are when we’re blasting through the atmosphere at 35,000 feet. We’re safe. We cannot die until our purpose on this planet is complete. And then, if we believe and have committed our lives to him, we get to see him face to face.
“I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!” (Psalm 139:7 NLT)
O Lord, give us faith to believe and trust in you. We’re so frail. Any change to our normal routine nearly derails us. We are but dust. What would we do without you and your mercy and grace?
“….I know Whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.” – 2 Tim 1:12
God showed me this verse when I was anxious about my own children. He helped me when I was in the pre-op room the day of my double mastectomy by reminding me to pray for others while I was waiting for my husband & doctors to see me before surgery. It was amazing – how could I NOT focus on my own fear & anxiety? What a gift that was to me!
We think we have control over things & that our family can’t live without us, but truthfully, we don’t & they can.
Fear is a killer for us. If we succumb to a spirit of fear, we will never have the confidence or courage to leave our “safe” lives & discover who we are in Christ!
We model this to everyone around us and don’t even know who is watching.
Thanks for being a witness of God’s love, mercy & grace to me Melinda!
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths!” There are many blessings in trusting God but the greatest one may be the peace He gives when you do! “O Lord of hosts, BLESSED is the one who trusts in you!” (Psa 84:12)
You have, once again, stated so well how the mind tries to get us to think of ourselves as more important and all-powerful than we are! Another good lesson. Easier to say than to do, but once we do trust, how blessed we are!
I have thought these same thoughts and battled the same doubts each year when my husband travels to serve the Lord overseas (India, mostly). I have unbelieving family that struggle with his ‘leaving his family to go to a dangerous area’, and I always tell them (and remind myself) that life is dangerous everywhere, and how much better to risk it all in service to the Lord, than to live ‘safe’ at home.
Maybe someday your granddaughter will get to go, too! My daughter worked and saved to go to India with her father and I in 2010. It changed her life and opened her eyes; she’s praying to be able to go again this year.
Glad I found your blog! Very good words for Ann in regards to her son.
Tresta, nice to meet you! Such a blessing to “meet” a fellow believer who loves the people of India and serves there. Ours is a family ministry, as it sounds like yours is too. My first child blasted off to the other side of the world for ministry in 1994 (this one to Russia). For the ones who stay at home each time, it gets easier to let them go, the more practice we get in doing it. And the more we do it, the more cognizant we become of the fact that they’re safe in the Lord’s hands, wherever they are—more stripping away of the fear that often clouds our minds, because we cannot yet see with our eyes the eternal realities of heaven. May the Lord use you and your family for his glory, whenever and wherever you may go.