Providentially, Wednesday my church called a day of fasting and prayer for the church family. It was a good day to fast and to be still before the Lord. We gathered together that evening to pray - for the needs of the church, its members, its missionaries (which includes me), and the community in which we live. As we split up into small groups, my group asked me to share a bit more, so I did. We prayed for the paperwork, the funding, my trusting God, etc., The next day I received an e-mail about my visa paperwork, saying that it would likely take a couple more months, at least. Not at all the news I wanted. But… God was kind in reminding me that he knows and is at work in the midst of even these details; we had just prayed about it, he knew.* And while I don't know the answer to why, it seems like in this season of life that the Lord is teaching me to be more okay with the tensions of living between the cross and the second coming of Christ, between the "already" and the "not yet." One day we will not wonder. One day things will not confuse us. One day we will see Him as he is and all things will be made new. That is very good news. Now, despite that being just as true now as it will be then, is the time to wait and to sit in the tension.
*In this, I'm not saying that he wouldn't have known had we not prayed. I'm merely saying that the fact that we had just prayed about it reminded me that God was not unaware.
