We're not just writing about trials & transitions--we're living them. My two biggest transitions in 2009 have included a new daughter & moving to a new country. I was reading about Ruth in the Bible when it hit me: my family and I are the foreigners. I’ve understood that we are Gentiles & our citizenship is in Heaven, but we are literally the internationals now. We know we’re hitting barriers, but we ask ourselves, “Is each scenario a language, cultural, spiritual, or personality barrier—or all four at once?!” Naomi unsuccessfully urged Ruth to return home where it would be most comfortable, and we consider how inconvenient the timing was on us moving here. My wife & I have 2 kids age 2 and younger in addition to all the other stresses of living in a different country. But God affirms us & we realize that it’s never convenient to do His will. There could always be an excuse to not live here—I’m too young, I’m not married, I’m newlywed, I have young kids, I have old kids, I’m too old, etc. It’s stressful to be here but we are led here & we want to be here. We’re striving to fit in culturally so that we can stand out spiritually, but as we observe local people & culture, I’ve sensed Him say, “Don’t mirror them; impact them." 

Growth is different from survival. I don't want to just survive living in another country with my baby girl and little boy, but I want to grow through these circumstances. "I can't wait until this week is over" is what survival says. But growth says, "I'm pressing forward even though this is hard." Where are you at right now? Are you trying to just get through this stage of your life and onto the next, or are you striving to recognize & follow through on what the Father wants to do with you today?

The recent anniversary of the September 11 attacks made me reflect on how God is not just stirring people toward Him individually but also collectively. Do you remember how spiritually attuned people became in the weeks that followed those terrorist attacks? I can’t point and choose which acts, such as the horrific ones 8 years ago, were caused by God and which ones were allowed by God.

More important than getting stuck in the philosophical quagmire on the problem of evil is recognizing that God wants to bring Himself glory in each tragedy. Whether God causes or allows certain trials to occur, we should choose to draw closer to Him at the heart level. Jesus said exactly that when a tower fell and killed 18 people. In Luke 13, Jesus quickly got to the heart level and urged his collective audience to turn toward the Lord. Learning to Soar is not just about your story or mine; it’s about what God wants to do on a regional and worldwide scale. Nations, just like individuals, can either heed or reject God’s warning signs and warming invitations.

I pray that America, and every other country, soars to an unprecedented level of doing God’s will on earth as it’s done in heaven.

Let it be so.  Matt