There are many opinions about the way God works, and arguments unfortunately ensue about what God does or doesn’t do and how our free will interacts with His sovereignty. I struggle with that because God calls us to a ministry of reconciliation and unity in Christ. Moreover, God’s ways are infinitely higher than our own, and, no matter our reasoning or argument, our ability to explain and understand His ways will always fail to measure up to the fullness of His glory.
Rather than form a perfect theology I have a lot more fun telling what God has done and is doing.
Today I met Brian. He is much like me. He is a husband and father of three children, and each of his children are close to the same ages as my own. He has maintained an excellent professional career (as an airline pilot) and enjoys a blessed life. He and his wife have decided to pursue ministry full-time for at least 18 months, taking leave from his employment and selling his home. But the one piece they were uncertain about was where they would go and how they would work through this time away.
It just so happens that some time ago he had signed up for a flight to Kona on August 11, 2009, before exploring the possibility of doing missions training in Kona. It also happened that I called Brian from Kona to see if they were going to complete their application to come to Kona a couple of weeks ago. They had nearly decided to go a different way, but my call, connecting him with someone much like himself, came at “just the right time.” I was able to share our family story and he identified with it.
So, today we planned to meet at the University of the Nations for a tour. At the last minute I ended up at lunch with the Founder of YWAM, Loren Cunningham, and Brian called me while I was at the lunch. I explained to Loren why I took the call and he immediately wanted to meet Brian, too. As a result, Brian’s first visit to a YWAM base ended up including time with someone who came from a similar background (me), meeting the Founder of YWAM (Loren), meeting the leader of the school he will be taking, and meeting the teacher and leader of the school his children will be going to. In addition, we had just finished processing his family’s application today, which wasn’t pre-planned at all, so his school leader could communicate to him in person his family’s acceptance for the training program.
Additionally, the time Loren could meet Brian happened to be at the weekly staff meeting, so he also was introduced there as a part of the amazing things God is doing. God continues to bring fantastic new leaders, ideas, and gift sets as we prepare for our 50th year.
One can try to suggest that it was all just good timing, but I just see it as God’s timing. And, it was God’s timing for Brian. I know he left the base blessed and understanding even more how much God loves him because the entire day seemed to be designed just for him. And that is just so much God’s nature and character. But not just for Brian, I too was blessed to see how God used me to play a role.
