I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

"Hey, Miriam," Kate said. "What if you have to get on a plane without knowing about support and trust that He'll provide as you fly?"

I cringed, thinking, "Lord, please no." Aloud, I said, "Well, I had a dream about that, but I'm still hoping it's not true..."

As many of you know, I have four days until I am to be on a plane headed to Portland! I still have 18% ($545) left to raise.

On Monday, I paid a final visit to see my old North Georgia BCM. Everyone I encountered wanted to know one thing big thing-- WHEN are you leaving? Throughout the night, I kept saying, "Well, I've been aiming for the 15th, but I may have to put that off a bit." And every time I said it, I felt the Spirit saying, "You're not trusting me, again."

After the meeting, I felt strongly that I should read in Ezekiel, that the Lord would give me direction. I told the Lord that Ezekiel seemed like a weird place to find an answer, especially as I read more and more on judgment and angels. I wanted to stop when I had read chapters 1-10 and hadn't gotten anything clear, but the Spirit was so sad when I started to close my Bible that I couldn't stop. I finally found 12: 21-24, 26-28:

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, “Son of man, what is this proverb that you have about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, The days are near, and the fulfillmentfn of every vision...For I am the LORD; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days,I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord GOD.” For I am the LORD; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord GOD.” “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord GOD.”

It seemed clear that the Lord was telling me to not postpone my leave date. In fact, I felt a little like this might mean a Abraham and Isaac sacrifice moment--having to obey while trusting He would provide After talking with wise people in my life whom I trust walk with God, I decided to buy a plane ticket. For Sunday.

I will be landing in Portland on Sunday at 2PM (PST)!

Yes, it's a little scary to be stepping out and waiting on the Lord to catch me. Yes, I can get those human feelings of "I should probably help Him out a little." But, as a sweet friend shared with me out of A. W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy yesterday:

"Since He is the Being supreme over all, it follows that God cannot be elevated. Nothing is above Him, nothing beyond Him. Any motion in His direction is elevation for the creature; away from Him, descent. He holds His position out of Himself and by leave of none. As no one can promote Him, so no one can degrade Him. It is written that He upholds all things by the word of His power. How can He be raised or supported by the things He upholds?"

 So I release myself to Him. "My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." (Ps. 63:8)

Please pray that He will provide (as He already planned to do), that I would have peace and wisdom as I wrap up ends here in Georgia, pack, and spend last days with my family, that I will have opportunities to share His name through safe and uneventful travel, and that Joshua and I will have direction about where we're taking things on campus these first few weeks. There will be a New Director's Meeting for those of us who are beginning campus ministries in the NorthWest area, Monday morning in Portland. I'm excited to finally begin!