Flying High, Digging Deep…I don’t think any other words could better describe our work and spiritual formation as missionaries.
Earlier this month my husband and ABM missionary Pete Ekle was dropped off by bush plane to work for a week in a remote village. He was there to help a young ministry family begin building their home. In true frontier fashion, they milled all the lumber on-site and brought up gravel for concrete in large buckets from the nearby riverbed. But first, before they could drive any stake into the ground, before they could begin any building…they had to dig deep. They measured, planned and started digging out the foundation. When they hit frozen ground, they were forced to stop and move on to digging the septic system.
The idea of building my own home sounds so romantic. Especially since I’ve moved so much as a military kid and professional wanderer. But the idea of shoveling rock, digging out a foundation and laying septic line in the mud for days on end…no thanks!
If you are not digesting a personal application for yourself yet, then you can borrow mine. For me, today, this means that I learn to trust God with my dreams and hopes on days when I’m flying high and on days when he puts the shovel in my hands and says, “Beloved, it’s time to dig deep,” I gather what little strength I may possess and press that shovel into the fallow ground of my heart.
Into what area of your life might God be inviting you to dig deep?
For this time, I leave you with a favorite verse that I think is pertinent, 2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
A Prayer for Us: Abba Father, thank you for being trustworthy. Now teach us to trust you on days when we get to fly high but especially on days when you ask us to dig deep. Amen.