Pondering the Pleasant Places

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. Psalm 16:6

The Lord has continually brought this verse to my mind over the last few weeks. A lot has changed in my life over the past year – the ministries I am involved in; my place of residence (no surprise there :); my roommate; the people I hang out with; the car I drive; my job and even my wardrobe (as my new job requires me to wear skirts or dresses – a far cry from the jeans and Docs I am so used to). Some of the changes were welcomed and some were not. Either way, though, this is the Lord’s lot for me and it is good. He has made the lines (the current circumstances in my life) fall in pleasant places. He is satisfied with where He has me and where He is taking me, and I must be satisfied in that as well. Some days that contentment is easier than others, but I am continually learning and growing in that contentment by His grace (Philippians 4:13).

Already in 2012, the Lord has been so gracious to answer some of the questions I had at the beginning of 2011. Like I was telling my prayer partner, it is as if God pressed the hold button at the beginning of 2011 and He pressed unhold at the beginning of 2012. At the beginning of 2011, I was wondering where I should work. That has now been answered. I was wondering about the walk of someone I was allowed to lead to Christ. That’s been answered. I was wondering about the ministries I should be involved in while in Louisville. That has been answered. And—and I have been waiting almost a year for this—in a few short weeks, I will be attending an event that I hope will bring clarification to God’s future for me overseas. There are still a few things that are still left unanswered from last year, but I am trusting and waiting for them to unfold and make sense in the near future.

The Lord continues to heal, help me deal and learn from the pain and brokenness of last year. He also continues to show me the crevices where pride is lurking in my heart. Sigh. It seems never-ending. The Prophet Jeremiah is right: our hearts are deceitfully wicked and hard to discern (Jeremiah 17:9-10). Last Sunday’s sermon was on Psalm 51 and Pastor Andy talked about the differences between a prideful and humble heart. The brokenness from last year was due mostly from my prideful, sinful heart. While the Lord has brought me a long way, I still have so far to go. I cannot wait to be free from this body of flesh to dwell in the God’s presence forever! (Romans 7:21-25; 1 Corinthians 5:1-9; Philippians 1:21-26)

Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart my fail [and they do!] but God is the strength of my heart and my Portion forever. Psalm 73:25-26

Note: The sermon this weekend at RF is over Psalm 73. So excited!