For the Glory of God
Well... I am sitting typing in the coffee shop known as "Higher Grounds" at IHOP. Why there? you ask... well
Yesterday, while my guests Joshua and Diana were sleeping, a young man broke into my apartment through my bedroom window. We believe he was checking out what he could take, opened their door, saw them sleeping, and took what he could carry.
He carried away my laptop and my new digital camera.
I was coming home from taking a bunch of our friends to the "One Night With the King" movie and immediately saw that my computer was not on the desk. I thought maybe Joshua and Diana had borrowed it and had it in the prayer room... but then I realized they were home and sleeping. I looked for my camera... which was beside the computer and that too was gone. I called the police.
What followed was the housing director and maintainence man in my house, then two police officers, then a detective... followed by questions, finger printing, and finger print dust all over my desk and my window (where the guy got in). I was laughing through most of it really feeling like "it's just stuff" and "nobody got hurt". It wasn't until last night and this morning that it really hit me.
It's a wierd feeling knowing someone you don't know was in your house. It's even wierder thinking they took something that doesn't belong to them and it was mine. But really it wasn't mine. It was God's to begin with. "The Lord gives and takes away" I know that... and I found myself praying for the young man to be caught. That was all the first few hours.
Then I went to EGS last night and told one of the leadership about it. I found out that there have been over 30 break ins at the apartments in the last 32 days. That is ONE A DAY at least!
Suddenly I wasn't feeling so safe. I know the Lord is in control... I know that it is all going to be fine, but I was saddened and bordering on nervous.
Then I get home and discover that one of our homeless crowd has been arrested. From what I understood (we are still trying to varify the issue) it was because they were caught breaking into an abandoned building trying to find a warm place to stay. The injustice of it was driving my crazy... one breaking in to steal and one breaking in to survive... and the second one gets arrested while the first is still free, most likely to do it again.
But here is the thing. (thanks Brian for this). God sees. God knows what is going on. My reaction needs to be one that brings Glory to the Father. HE is in control. He rewards, He punishes... all in His time. My response NEEDS to be... all for the Glory of God and to trust him in my heart and by the words of my mouth (as Joshua reminded me this morning). I have a choice...I choose to pray for this young man that Salvation would find him. I pray that the Lord brings His brand of Justice... and that in it all His name be Glorified.
Pray for us here. The break-ins are a growing issue of course, and we are longing for God to break in in his own way... ha ha... I've been praying a lot lately for Break in! Maybe I should be careful what I pray for!
Ha ha
Be blessed all... and let God be Glorified!
Yesterday, while my guests Joshua and Diana were sleeping, a young man broke into my apartment through my bedroom window. We believe he was checking out what he could take, opened their door, saw them sleeping, and took what he could carry.
He carried away my laptop and my new digital camera.
I was coming home from taking a bunch of our friends to the "One Night With the King" movie and immediately saw that my computer was not on the desk. I thought maybe Joshua and Diana had borrowed it and had it in the prayer room... but then I realized they were home and sleeping. I looked for my camera... which was beside the computer and that too was gone. I called the police.
What followed was the housing director and maintainence man in my house, then two police officers, then a detective... followed by questions, finger printing, and finger print dust all over my desk and my window (where the guy got in). I was laughing through most of it really feeling like "it's just stuff" and "nobody got hurt". It wasn't until last night and this morning that it really hit me.
It's a wierd feeling knowing someone you don't know was in your house. It's even wierder thinking they took something that doesn't belong to them and it was mine. But really it wasn't mine. It was God's to begin with. "The Lord gives and takes away" I know that... and I found myself praying for the young man to be caught. That was all the first few hours.
Then I went to EGS last night and told one of the leadership about it. I found out that there have been over 30 break ins at the apartments in the last 32 days. That is ONE A DAY at least!
Suddenly I wasn't feeling so safe. I know the Lord is in control... I know that it is all going to be fine, but I was saddened and bordering on nervous.
Then I get home and discover that one of our homeless crowd has been arrested. From what I understood (we are still trying to varify the issue) it was because they were caught breaking into an abandoned building trying to find a warm place to stay. The injustice of it was driving my crazy... one breaking in to steal and one breaking in to survive... and the second one gets arrested while the first is still free, most likely to do it again.
But here is the thing. (thanks Brian for this). God sees. God knows what is going on. My reaction needs to be one that brings Glory to the Father. HE is in control. He rewards, He punishes... all in His time. My response NEEDS to be... all for the Glory of God and to trust him in my heart and by the words of my mouth (as Joshua reminded me this morning). I have a choice...I choose to pray for this young man that Salvation would find him. I pray that the Lord brings His brand of Justice... and that in it all His name be Glorified.
Pray for us here. The break-ins are a growing issue of course, and we are longing for God to break in in his own way... ha ha... I've been praying a lot lately for Break in! Maybe I should be careful what I pray for!
Ha ha
Be blessed all... and let God be Glorified!
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