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Writings of David Chadwell “Where are you going, Joshua?” To conquer
Canaan! “How much area will you conquer?” I don’t know. “How long will it take?”
I don’t know. “Will some of your men be killed?” Certainly! “Then why are you
doing this?” For two reasons: (1) God is with us; (2) Canaan is God’s promised
gift to us.
“David, where are you going?” To the wilderness. “Why?” Saul is trying to kill
me! “Why?” I don’t know—it does not make sense to me! “How long will you be
gone?” I don’t know! “Where will you stay?” I don’t know! “Will you be okay?”
Surely—I am going to the wilderness; I am not leaving God. God is there, too,
you know.
“Why do you look so confused, Habakkuk?” I am trying to figure out what God is
doing! “What is going on?” God constantly gives me visions of horrible
destruction on His people! “Ah, I understand!” I doubt it! He will use the
fierce, arrogant, wicked Babylonians to destroy Judah. How can God use a people
more wicked than Judah to destroy Judah. Judah surely are not angels, but they
are not as evil as the Babylonians. Sorry; I must go—I have to figure this out!
“Why are you so despondent, Jesus?” I am on my way to my execution. “If you know
where you are going, why go?” God wants me to go. “Aren’t your desires bigger
than God’s will?” No! “Why?” Simple—God’s purposes are significantly greater
than my desires. My desires focus on now. God’s purposes focus on forever as He
wars against evil. My body and mind scream ‘don’t die’, but my understanding
realizes God’s purposes are bigger than me.
“Where are you going, Paul?” I am going to my beating, or my shipwreck, or my
stoning, or to my next dangerous journey, or my next personal struggle—take your
pick. “Paul, why knowingly have any of those experiences?” Simple—I understand
what God did for me in Jesus Christ. God’s gift and Jesus’ sacrifice far exceed
my discomfort. Besides, everyone needs to know what God did for him or her in
Jesus!
Where are you going? You don’t know? You don’t even understand why? You struggle
to grasp the ‘eternal’ is bigger than the ‘now’—especially when ‘now’ seems real
and the ‘eternal’ seems artificial? Don’t be distressed by your confusion or
your struggle! Why? For two reasons: (1) You are in good company; (2) God is
there as surely as He is here.
Psalms 139:7-12 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or
where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I
make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if
I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and
Your right hand will hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
and the light around me will be night,” even darkness is not dark to You, and
night is bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.
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Writings of David Chadwell
