The red and white “For Sale By Owner” sign in our yard boldly proclaims that our lives are in transition. Stepping out by faith, my husband and I are selling our home and leaving his current position of ministry to move to a community about 30 miles away. Confident that God is able, I still find myself trying to get my bearings as we wait on the unknown. I daily live between two places: at peace with where we are and ready to move forward when the Lord directs.
Paul wrote, “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:12-13). Desirable in theory. Romantic in prospect. Raw in reality. Far more than a comforting ideology, living in the shelter of God’s protection is an exercise in surrender.
True stability doesn’t come in amassing belongings, owning a home, or working the same job for 40 years. While all of these things may seem to bring added security, in reality, they’re but a fragile thread that we grip. At any moment, everything can change.
And even when anticipated, change isn’t easy. Fortunately, God is able to handle our questions when we arrive at unexpected places. But there’s something incredible about sitting in silent wonder before the God of creation as we wait for Him to move on our behalf (Psalm 62:1,5).
I don’t know when our house will sell or where we’ll move. Some days that reality is a little unsettling. But when I go back to God’s Word, I’m reminded that “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken” (Psalm 62:2).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 1 Samuel 3:1-21
More:
Read Romans 8:23-28 to see where we can place our confidence in times of waiting before the Lord.
Next:
What areas in your life reflect your attempt to find security in something other than God? How can transitions bring us to a greater depth in our relationship with Jesus?
Sandy on March 20, 2013 at 6:06 am
Please let us know how God has answered your decision. I have prayed for you and your family that our Father will keep you in the palms of his hands. Lord Bless!
Thank you for your faithfulness, Regina.
regina franklin on March 20, 2013 at 9:42 pm
Hi Sandy,
Thanks so much for your prayers. Because we write ahead for the devos, I will be happy to catch everyone up. We sold our home in November (after having it listed for seven months). The Lord moved on our behalf and provided a buyer who was also a believer. What a joy to pass our home on to someone who would understand the value of having made our house a place of ministry.
Since that time we have been living with gracious family members who have allowed us the use of their home while they travel (they are retired). What a process! We have learned a lot about living compactly and being patient in the waiting process. We should be moving in the next three or four months. In the meantime, we have been moving forward with the church plant. God provided some much needed portable equipment, and we are currently working to build the launch team.
Continue to keep us in your prayers as we find a portable location–we have one in mind but need to work our way through the appropriate channels of approval in the city.
Blessings!
kgj1264 on March 20, 2013 at 9:18 am
30 miles doesn’t seem that far, at least you are closer than most people who have to relocate. Godspeed in your move, I pray that God’s hand is in every step.
Try moving over 3000 miles from southern California to Maine where there are little or no churches, where the people here do not believe in God and the ones who do amass these cliques that no one is included in, that is unless you grow up here.
Fortunately we are leaving and looking for a more God centered community, I do pray that these people here do find the love of Christ some how. But for now it seems to me that it is an area that is described in Ezekiel 37. Pray with me for the people of Maine that they may find the love of Christ and that may they accept Him as Lord and Savior.
regina franklin on March 20, 2013 at 9:46 pm
Dear kgj1264,
My heart goes out to you in what must have been dry and weary days. My husband’s family is from Maine–and I attended college in MA–so I am well aware of the spiritual climate in that area. Ironically, my husband and I had initially planned to plant in the New England area when we first married, but for whatever reason, the Lord kept us here.
I will be praying for you and your family as you make yet another transition. May the Lord bless you with relationships of life and rest.
Praying also for believers in New England who cry out to the Lord for revival . . .
kyoung on March 20, 2013 at 10:41 am
A friend just shared your blog with me ths morning…:) I told her I could have wrote this with my own hand and heart. My husband and I and two girls are in transition from Maine to Georgia… For Sale sign in front of the house… Waiting on the buyers God has for us …and Gods promises in our hearts. Not everyone understands why but we know what God has spoken to our hearts… We will be praying for you and your family, clear direction and sale of your home…Blessings. Numbers 6:24-26
regina franklin on March 20, 2013 at 9:50 pm
Dear kyoung,
My prayers are with you–may the Lord give you His vision and patience. In the waiting process, I would tell myself and the Lord that I would not wish away the time in our home too quickly because the day would soon come when we would have to give the key to someone else.
What a phenomenal journey–Maine to Georgia! Feel free to email me at regina.franklin@gmail.com. Blessings on your marriage and on your daughters as this will be a significant transition for them as well. The move has not been easy on our kids, but we have fixed our hearts and minds on the truth that God’s gifts, though they bring challenge, always bring redemption.
roxanne robbins on March 20, 2013 at 11:47 am
Thank you for the good reminder: “living in the shelter of God’s protection is an exercise in surrender”
regina franklin on March 20, 2013 at 9:51 pm
Dear Roxanne,
I so admire the work you do for the Lord. May He give you the strength you need at the very moment of surrender. Praying for you . . .