Isaiah 46:4

         I will continue to carry you even when you are old.
       I will take good care of you even when your hair is gray.
      I have made you. And I will carry you.
      I will take care of you. And I will save you.
     I am the Lord.                                                  Isaiah 46:4


well,the other day I was doing my devotions, morning quiet time and this verse (above) jumped off the page and into my mind.   I couldn't seem to get away from it, my eyes kept darting back to it, a sure sign for me, that God wanted to say something to my heart.

Brengle has now finished and life is back into full swing, and seriously there are some issues of curiosity that hang over my life in regards to my ministry future, and seeing as though nothing has been said in any way or direction as yet, I feel completely justified to share my feeling and  fears and hopes. 

As a Salvation Army Officer, "I" , just like all my colleagues, face the uncertain future of where I will be ministering in 2013 and beyond. 

Basically it's ok, for I signed a Covenant (see below) (which for me I just renewed with my Lord, at Brengle) that said I will go wherever and whenever and whatever, and for me that hasn't changed.

But it leaves me still feeling unsettled and  uncertain of just exactly where that will be....

and then God speaks into my spirit and says....

I will continue to carry you even when you are old


well, I am getting older, and He promises to Carry me even then..... that's reassuring. 

I will take good care of you even when your hair is gray.


who knows if I am gray... I am "bald..."  but if I had hair, it would most likely be growing gray.  But God says I will take care of you even then....

I have made you. And I will carry you.

and He reminds me again  He will carry me.... He made me, He knows what makes me tick, what I am fearful of, what excites me, what drives me, and what I stand against.    

  
I will take care of you. And I will save you.

It's pretty crucial to me  that God says that He will take care of me, and that he will save me.

my life is built upon this premise, so to be reminded of it and reassured of it, it's pretty cool, especially in light of the uncertainty of the future at this moment in time.

Being  a Salvation Army Officer is not for everyone, I get that, but when God calls you to it, why would you ever want to shrink back from God's best, when He promises the kind of stuff He promises in this verse. ?

For me.... ( and maybe not for everyone else) BUT for me.... The Salvation Army has never done anything to hurt or damage me or mistreat me or my family.

I have found support and a listening ear, and love and concern to my needs.

I trust the Army leaders that they will be guided by God, so that this verse will in fact be a "life promise" for Gary Grants future ministry as a Salvo Officer.

and of course there's that final line....

I am the Lord.

He is....  He is my Lord.... and I love Him, and I desire to serve and please Him, and do what He calls me continually to be and to do.

I  don't think I am better than anyone else,
neither do I think that I am any worse,
I am just Gary Grant,
a Major in the Salvation Army, Australia Southern Territory...

doing my best to be surrendered and submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in my life

and my future is in His hands.

and it's OK.

 ***************************************************************

My Covenant:

CALLED BY GOD
to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
as an officer of The Salvation Army

I bind myself to Him in this solemn Covenant:
to love and trust and serve Him supremely all my days,
to live to win souls and make their salvation the first purpose of my life.
to maintain the doctrines and principles of The Salvation Army, and by God's grace,
to prove myself a worthy officer.

(signed , November 29th, 1995)


























Comments

  1. EphesiansFour12Missions21 August 2012 at 10:11

    Facing that same uncertainty, I share your faith and security in the divine hand of God who has given us three of the best appointments we could ever have imagined!

    ReplyDelete

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