Impoverished or Almighty

I have been feeling impoverished lately. Does anyone else struggle with moments of uncertainty and angst about the way things are going? Whenever we talk to people back in the US we get off the phone feeling scared and uncertain about jobs, the economy, and the future. Several events of late have just been difficult. My mom recently shared a message her pastor friend e-mailed her about remembering "in uncertain times we have a certain God". If I focus on what I know of God and what we have experienced of Him I am reminded he is present and Almighty. It is a daily chose to think about him, yield to His will, draw up to his presence, and take in the words of encouragement and peace he gives. Jesus called himself "the bread of life" that we need to "feed on". Like physical food for our physical body we have a spiritual need for a constant daily dose of God's fresh presence in our lives. I have felt discouraged and disappointed about the way things are going but I am trying to look up, take in, and rely on something beyond myself and my circumstances. I thought this message below from Oswald was befitting.
The impoverished ministry of Jesus
Posted by Oswald Chambers under My Utmost for His Highest
From whence then hast Thou that living water? John 4:11.
“The well is deep”—and a great deal deeper than the Samaritan woman knew! Think of the depths of human nature, of human life, think of the depths of the ‘wells’ in you. Have you been impoverishing the ministry of Jesus so that He cannot do anything? Suppose there is a well of fathomless trouble inside your heart, and Jesus comes and says—“Let not your heart be troubled”; and you shrug your shoulders and say—‘But, Lord, the well is deep; You cannot draw up quietness and comfort out of it.’ No, He will bring them down from above. Jesus does not bring anything up from the wells of human nature. We limit the Holy One of Israel by remembering what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past, and by saying—‘Of course I cannot expect God to do this thing.’ The thing that taxes almightiness is the very thing which as disciples of Jesus we ought to believe He will do. We impoverish His ministry the moment we forget He is Almighty; the impoverishment is in us, not in Him. We will come to Jesus as Comforter or as Sympathizer, but we will not come to Him as Almighty.
The reason some of us are such poor specimens of Christianity is because we have no Almighty Christ. We have Christian attributes and experiences, but there is no abandonment to Jesus Christ. When we get into difficult circumstances, we impoverish His ministry by saying—‘Of course He cannot do any thing,’ and we struggle down to the deeps and try to get the water for ourselves. Beware of the satisfaction of sinking back and saying—‘It can’t be done’; you know it can be done if you look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness is deep, but make the effort and look away to Him.

Lighten Up

The serious contemplator may want to scroll down to "Dealing with Waiting" which I started before Lynn did "Messengers" but didn't finish and post until now. For the lighter side, here are some comic pictures from the Girl's weekend in Wellington with Rus while the boys were camping with Miguel. There was a special international Rugby tournament in town and the city was alive with costume clad groups heading to the stadium. Yes the thing to do is to go in costume and many a group was hamming it up. The funnier and crazier the costume the better and I thought I would share some of our favorites from "people watching".

Messengers

Camping Trip sunset-Ahipara

Campsite and bonfire on the beach.

All boys trip and 4 Wheeling in the surf.

Sand dunes with campsite

Lynn, Andrew, Phillip and Champ...Miguel took the photo

Forgive us for our blogging hiatus. We've had to deal with American "stuff" including buying our tickets home. We'll be arriving in Knoxville at 9:45 pm Saturday, May 2! See you there.

Summer continues to be beautiful. So much of God's peace can be communicated through nature if we stop, look and listen.

Over the past week a few men have at least made me listen. Making some of the preliminary arrangements for returning home have been stressful and anxiety provoking. Watching the news, talking to people back home, and seeing bank accounts get depleted only worsens the sorry state. I took some of this with me into the wilderness last weekend as the boys and I went camping with Miguel (our pastor) and his son, Champ. On the drive up to 90-mile beach I told Miguel about some of my "problems" in America. He thought about them a moment- and then told me that they were a rich man's problems, implying they were not much to really worry about. It's not like any of my issues would lead to persecution, starvation, poverty or death. All real possibilities in a poor man's country. With that dismissal I agreed with him and was able to move on and enjoy my wild west coast camping adventure with my boys and the Abascal boys. The next man sent my way was one of my patients. He is an 85 year old Dutchman who came to New Zealand in the 1940's. I've known him for about 6 months and always find it a pleasure to see him. Despite pretty ragged lungs he's always smiling and making the most of things. He was genuinely saddened to find out I was returning home in May which made me feel appreciated. When he was about 20 years old the Nazis rolled into Holland and rounded up all the young men. Because he wouldn't fight for them they put him in a concentration camp. He said he nearly starved to death but was able to escape and eventually find a boat for New Zealand to get as far from Hitler as he could. Knowing this about him I asked what he thought of the current "crisis". He only laughed and said "You all don't know trouble!" Relatively speaking, he's definitely right about me. The third man I met with this week is my new medical partner from South Africa, John Mpe. He is a respiratory physician like myself. We were talking as we drove back from an out of town clinic and I asked him if South Africa was being affected by the financial issues of today. He, too, laughed and told me that it is so strange for him to listen to the American or New Zealand news and hear people worrying about unemployment going from 4 to 6% or so because unemployment in his country is 40%! He pointed to the road we were driving on and said, "In my country, there would be old and young men lining this road doing nothing because they have no jobs."

After hearing from these three messengers (and God's usual messenger to me- my wife) my heart had peace and hope not that my "troubles" would go away, but that in the grand scheme of things they were minor and - even if they became major- God and my friends and family would still be there for me no matter what the outcome. I am sure everyone reading this has food, shelter and someone nearby who loves them. If you do, give thanks to God. If you don't, leave a comment and we'll help you to the best of our ability!

Dealing With Waiting

As we wind down our time here I am reminded of the intro we put into this blog. We anticipated correctly and we have learned about ourselves, the people of New Zealand, and our God. It has been fabulous. Each of those could and may at sometime become a blog entry. For now as we plan to return to Knoxville in May I am faced with a season of waiting which is the topic of this blog. I am waiting to say painful "Goodbyes" here and waiting for sweet reunion with you guys back home. However, I originaly entitled this blog entry "Dealing with Disappointment" because the waiting has resulted in anxiety and disappointment from the details of life in Knoxville not exactly falling quickly into a place we like. Let's keep it in perspective I am fortunate to not have to worry about the next meal like many we know who struggle from pay check to pay check. My health is good unlike various family members and the patients we see. My children are well unlike my friends who have lost children (I found out this past week through a facebook reunion that an old college roomate painfully lost a newborn much like I've seen 4 of my other friends experience). Never the less there are still taxes to figure out, busy Knoxville call schedules to work, 2 empty houses to pay mortgages on, a downward sliding weak New Zealand dollar to match the downward turn in savings, 401K, 1029,etc. The biggest pieces of the puzzle of uncertainty are the Knoxville pathology job and my Dad's health. I wonder if anyone can relate to uncertainty? The present circumstances can hold challenges and the future can be uncertain in many aspects. However, walking through these anxious weeks has brought an opportunity for me to seek God for His will and for His security. My prayers have shifted from the obligation or the light affair to a deep appeal that comes from the soul. The Word always speaks to me if I will read it and indeed these weeks I have heard many accounts from the Bible where people have had to bolster their faith and wait on the Lord (like Daniel after refusing Neb's food then trusting God to make him strong and like the syrophenecian woman who asked Jesus to heal her daughter trusting through silence and Jesus' questioning). My sister sent me a beautiful verse about being "joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer". I have sought God through some very honest prayers and my joy and hope are returning. The circumstances have not changed and the uncertainty remains reguarding work and my Dad but my heart is a little more resolved to believe God will work it all out and we will cope with whatever hardships come. It may not be easy but God promises He is a "very help and presence in times of trouble." We saw God come through in so many ways in coming to New Zealand and here we are having to believe him for the return as well.