Passages

The Book of Ecclesiastes, which admittedly leaves me puzzled at times, includes a sweeping promise in the first verse of its third chapter: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.

Now is my season to embrace a new city, a new ministry, a new mission field, and a new chapter of life. This moment is nothing short of God’s appointed transition for me, and for my family, and under God’s sovereign Lordship I’m choosing to embrace it for His glory.

You and I never land anywhere by accident or chance, friends. Some of the new situations in which we find ourselves will stretch us, and may even cause us to question God’s rule over the details that got us here, but a firm conviction that the gospel is true leaves us no other choice than to believe that the God who has called us to faith in His Son is wonderfully directing our path. We can count on it.

Every twist and turn is part of the plan. Every circuitous route. Every harrowing journey. Every broken road (thanks, Rascal Flatts).

Did you read the story of Darren Harrison this week? Returning by air from a fishing expedition in the Bahamas, he had to land the plane in which he was a passenger because the pilot had become incapacitated. With no previous flying experience, Harrison landed the Cessna aircraft safely at Palm Beach International Airport. But he had to ask air traffic controllers for help turning off the engine.

Friends, embracing the Lord’s appointed path for us makes every moment precious, as it should be. I’m writing these words at midnight in fact. I could be sleeping, but thoughts of time and eternity are more important. Time is finite, but God is infinite. We ought to be amazed by the insight into eternity which He has offered us in His Word. We can’t know everything about time, but what we do know ought to stir our hearts to praise and our feet to action. You and I are on a glorious adventure getting from here to heaven.

I can’t wait to discover all of the new friendships which God will forge for me!

I can’t wait to see how my gifts (and Eileen’s gifts, which clearly outshine mine) are going to line up with the kingdom challenges and opportunities dotting the landscape of Middle Tennessee!

I can’t wait to love on some people in my new community who don’t yet know Jesus!

The older I get, the more I realize that Christ’s greatest glory is my greatest joy. That’s what it’s all about. Christ is alive, and that changes absolutely everything about this new season.

So, Nashville, bring it on!

Pastor Charles