By Mark Lewis
Is. 54:2-3 “Enlarge the place of your tent; Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your pegs. “For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left. And your descendants will possess nations, And they will resettle the desolate cities.
Ezek. 36:36-39 “Then the nations that are left round about you will know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolate; I, the LORD, have spoken and will do it.” ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “This also I will let the house of Israel ask Me to do for them: I will increase their men like a flock. “Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so will the waste cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”’”
It is compelling to consider William Carey kneeling with Isaiah 54:2-3 in mind and then saying, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” Reflecting on William Carey, Dawson Trotman claimed this passage for the work of The Navigators believing that the fruit of their faith, prayer and labors would impact our nation and the nations. LeRoy and Virgina Eims in 1958 prayed Ezekiel 36:36-39 in that same mode of faith for the “official” launch of the Collegiate work of The Navigators at The University of NE. Over forty years later Tom Yeakley prayed this passage asking God to reinvigorate the Collegiate work.
Both passages speak to God restoring Israel after her refining exile in order to bring glory to His name, good to His people and impact to the nations. God has graciously restored the work of the Collegiate ministries. We are grateful, but it is too small a thing in light of our needy world. May He flow, no, rather may He flood our cities and the nations with hundreds and hundreds who have their spiritual beginnings in the military and student work.
Won’t you pray with me this week that we as the Navigators believe God and are used by God to send a torrent of Christ lovers to live and labor next door to everywhere?
Father, thank you so much for breathing life once again in the Collegiate ministries of The Navigators. It’s amazing. But, we know that Your heart does not stop beating at the campus. We are desperate for Your power to see people going from the campuses to the cities and the nations.
Help us to see life as a grand adventure where we can join You in the every day current of the mundane and meaningful to fully live life for You wherever You place us. Enable us to join with those of like heart to be You to those lonely, broken people all around us. Help us to see them as You do. And love them as You do. Then, please enable us to enable others to live out this vision, Your vision.
Our beloved Savior You told us to ask our Father, the Lord of the harvest, to send workers into the harvest fields. When you saw that group of broken every day people almost 2000 years ago your heart was drawn deeply toward them. Turn to us as you turned to your friends so long ago. Say to us “Pray. Pray that our Father compels workers to flow into the harvest fields.”
Show us how we can work together as The Navigators for the sake of those in our ministries so that whatever their location, whatever their vocation … they see themselves as “full time” in the harvest fields. Show us how to integrate what we do as Navigators so that we can be a great resource to many who will become light and life to those for whom You died. Fulfill your promises once again, Campuses, Cities, Nations for Your glory.
Posted by Vic Black @ 10:12 am
