“He is like a tree, planted by the water, sending its roots to the stream and not afraid of the heat…” Jeremiah 17:7-8
Our new building construction is almost complete. Visions of how the addition will aid our model, dance in the imagination. There is excitement in the air as the Lord leads emerging account managers and new inside sales personnel to our force. There is humility in the air as I think about how He continues to fund it. But not all of it has come easy. Not every day has been blue-bell ice cream. Aligning contractors and subs, and doing our best to coordinate with the city’s schedule, has been a dumpster fire of sorts. We have made no less than 100 phone calls to various city officials hoping to speed the process up. The delays have cost money and stored inventory in a non-climate controlled environment has gone to waste as we have dotted another “I” and crossed another”t” in this building process that seems to never end.
In the midst of all of the chaos, one lone power pole has remained my nemesis throughout the construction. We have thrown money through the window doing everything possible to remove it. We’ve paid a penalty for the check showing up late, a penalty for the check being misplaced, and the frustration of continued setbacks and schedule changes as this dormant object remains firmly planted, unphased by the utility company’s finest and our growing desire to burn it down. Praise God it is finally gone, and we can now complete the construction process and use the rest of the parking lot for its intended purpose. But, despite my elation, I would be careless if I did not tell you I miss seeing that old power pole standing out there by itself.
David encourages us to be like a tree standing near water, firm and courageous, wavering none. Inevitably, life will bring delays, financial stress, disappointments and adjustments to the calendar. David inspires us in the Psalms to remain steadfast directing our eyes vertically and remembering Who we belong to and Who will deliver those who trust in the Lord. In the center of these motivations, I remain speechless as God uses inanimate objects and the timing of their revelation, to stop me dead in my sprint and gain a little better understanding of the subject being taught in today’s classroom. For more than six months, it was a stupid pole that would not move. For more than six months it was another delay and another deduction off the bottom line. In a mere second its purpose became providential and in a mere second its absence put me on my knees.
Praise God for his use of aluminum siding, finishing sand and utility poles. Daily bread in both solid and liquid form provides another opportunity for communion with God, and purposely dispenses another paint stroke on the canvas of this beautiful garden. Be encouraged, brothers and sisters. God loves you enough to use the most insignificant and inert objects available, to show you His most perfect design and His most encompassing message of protection and provision. His timing will almost never be on your watch. Yet somehow it is absolutely perfect when the clock hands do finally meet. His every breath is divine and no matter where you feel your position in the parking lot of life is, the resurrection of your lost soul is far from over even as humanity’s projects come to a close.
He is good. He is holy. He alone is God.
