“Now it was told [to] King David, saying, ‘The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.’ So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness.” (2 Samuel 6:12)
As we finish up our "How Words Work" series with 2 Samuel chapter 6, we reflect more on the two very different scenes between chapters 5 and 6. In chapter 5, we see David finally receiving the promise and walking out the victory God had already prepared, in the way God planned. Chapter 6 begins with great anticipation and then tragedy strikes with the death of Uzzah. King David is shaken to his core. But soon enough we see him celebrating the promise and prosperity by bringing the representation of the very presence of God to his new position. In spite of the challenges earlier in this chapter, the people and the King overcame. They learned what it meant to walk in what God had spoken -- to the very letter -- and receive the promise with celebration and gladness.
Today, I write to you with gladness!
In just over a month, I will be arriving in Madrid, Spain for a five-months-long English teaching assignment. It has been an almost two-year-long journey that began with a word of God in my spirit in August 2021. I’ll tell you a secret: this journey is the inspiration for our “How Words Work” blog series. Yep! And God gave me the outline before I knew I was granted a fellowship to teach overseas. Parts 1 and 2 of the blog were actually published three days before I received my fellowship offer!
But, the original plan that was put into motion and heavily invested in, was to be in Israel for nine months. War broke out the day before I was supposed to fly to Tel-Aviv. Not being able to cultivate, in-person, the relationships that I had curated waiting for that trip has left me heartbroken on many days. Watching the death, destruction, and dismay that this war has caused has left me feeling sad for the country and people I dreamed about working along-side. Not being able to enjoy the beauty and rich culture of a place I have long dreamed of visiting has been dream shattering.
And yet, God’s ways are perfect. In the midst of death and destruction, His will is perfect. Period. Everything that I have shared this year in this series is the process I have walked out in my life. This is not just a study that I’ve curated, it is my life. And now it’s time to receive and prepare to live in the next phase of the process: celebration.
Even when His will leaves me feelings lost, I know that His life-blessing and life-prospering presence is with me WHEREVER I go. Like King David in the verses from last month, over the past two months I regularly felt angry, bitter, fearful, and confused...sometimes all on the same day. But watching Him open doors for this next move is comforting and exciting.
Today, after facing more challenges than I can actually recall, I understand more about what it means to honor God with my words, how to honor my faith with my heart and the fruit of the Spirit, and how to keep my eyes on Jesus, no matter what. So, whatever Spain holds for me, my future, my career, my ministry, my dreams, I celebrate!
Hear it. Speak it. Seek it!
Living Always With Great Expectation,
Dawn~
As we finish up our "How Words Work" series with 2 Samuel chapter 6, we reflect more on the two very different scenes between chapters 5 and 6. In chapter 5, we see David finally receiving the promise and walking out the victory God had already prepared, in the way God planned. Chapter 6 begins with great anticipation and then tragedy strikes with the death of Uzzah. King David is shaken to his core. But soon enough we see him celebrating the promise and prosperity by bringing the representation of the very presence of God to his new position. In spite of the challenges earlier in this chapter, the people and the King overcame. They learned what it meant to walk in what God had spoken -- to the very letter -- and receive the promise with celebration and gladness.
Today, I write to you with gladness!
In just over a month, I will be arriving in Madrid, Spain for a five-months-long English teaching assignment. It has been an almost two-year-long journey that began with a word of God in my spirit in August 2021. I’ll tell you a secret: this journey is the inspiration for our “How Words Work” blog series. Yep! And God gave me the outline before I knew I was granted a fellowship to teach overseas. Parts 1 and 2 of the blog were actually published three days before I received my fellowship offer!
But, the original plan that was put into motion and heavily invested in, was to be in Israel for nine months. War broke out the day before I was supposed to fly to Tel-Aviv. Not being able to cultivate, in-person, the relationships that I had curated waiting for that trip has left me heartbroken on many days. Watching the death, destruction, and dismay that this war has caused has left me feeling sad for the country and people I dreamed about working along-side. Not being able to enjoy the beauty and rich culture of a place I have long dreamed of visiting has been dream shattering.
And yet, God’s ways are perfect. In the midst of death and destruction, His will is perfect. Period. Everything that I have shared this year in this series is the process I have walked out in my life. This is not just a study that I’ve curated, it is my life. And now it’s time to receive and prepare to live in the next phase of the process: celebration.
Even when His will leaves me feelings lost, I know that His life-blessing and life-prospering presence is with me WHEREVER I go. Like King David in the verses from last month, over the past two months I regularly felt angry, bitter, fearful, and confused...sometimes all on the same day. But watching Him open doors for this next move is comforting and exciting.
Today, after facing more challenges than I can actually recall, I understand more about what it means to honor God with my words, how to honor my faith with my heart and the fruit of the Spirit, and how to keep my eyes on Jesus, no matter what. So, whatever Spain holds for me, my future, my career, my ministry, my dreams, I celebrate!
Hear it. Speak it. Seek it!
Living Always With Great Expectation,
Dawn~
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