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Stuck in Moscow

I like flying. The whole idea of going somewhere, in my book, is better than going…nowhere. But, I wanna be the one to decide where I’m going and when I’m going. 

I set out a few weeks ago from Houston thinking I had one stop in Singapore before my final destination, Myanmar. Instead, the captain announced after takeoff, “Well, ladies and gentleman, sit back and enjoy our nonstop flight to Moscow.” Moscow…as in Russia? I never knew we were going to Russia. I’ve been there and don’t really want to return. I didn’t even want to stop in the airport in Moscow. To me its like saying, “Oh. we’re sending you to Siberia.” I simply didn’t know we had to go through Russia to get to my final destination.

Isn’t it like that in life sometimes? You think you’re going one place, and God takes you on a different route, different scenery, with unexpected layovers you never would’ve planned. Lord, you mean we’re gonna stop in Divorceland, Detoxville, and then Unemploymentown all on the way to BrokenandUseful City? That’s not exactly what I signed up for.

Maybe you’re asking yourself today, “How in the world did I end up on this layover in Moscow?” Well, maybe God’s flight plans are different than our own. Maybe you and I need that refueling in Moscow to make it on to the next leg. So what’s your Moscow today?

I started to think about all this stuff as I sat in my middle seat (and that’s another blog in itself), staring at this little satellite map of our plane as it made it’s way to the other side of the world. I found out that if you watch the map on that little screen long enough, it’ll seem like you’re not going anywhere, even though it says we’re moving at 600mph. Ever feel that way?

I’m convinced that in life these stopping points are needed in order for us to make it to our final destination. We would do well to abandon our own plans, and ask God to “take me where you want, when you want (even sitting in the middle seat).” Choosing His plans over ours reminds me of Lance Winkler’s modern adaptation of John Wesley’s great prayer:  

I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, place me with whom you will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be put to work for you or set aside for you, praised for you or criticized for you.  Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and fully surrender all things to your hope and service. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, you are mine, and I am yours. So be it.

So my friend, find yourself in a cold, strange, unplanned Moscow today? Realize that it’s all a season. A stopover. A situation that God has allowed to happen for your good and for His will. And you can believe, “All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purposes”…even stops in Russia.

There’s no place like Hope, 

Stefan  <!–[if !mso]>

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