INTRODUCTION
I just returned from three weeks of ministry in
Australia and New Zealand. One of my earliest
memories, as a five-year-old growing up in
Hastings, New Zealand, was standing by the
massive trunk of the old oak tree in the park
around the corner from my home and gazing up
through the leaves at what seemed to me to be
huge branches that almost touched the sky.
IMMOVABLE
I moved from Hastings when I was 17 and lived in
various cities around New Zealand, then made the
shift to Australia, where I lived for half my
life before moving to the United States nearly
eight years ago. Significant events, usually
concerning family, would
take me back to Hastings from time to time.
Every time I returned, I would inevitably find
my way to the old oak tree, just to see if it
was still there. It would always look the same;
strong, immovable, and almost touching the sky!
NUMBER OUR DAYS
That old oak tree never seems to change. It has
always been there to help me order my days. In
Psalm 90:12, the psalmist asks the Lord to
"...teach us to number our days, that we may
gain a heart of wisdom."
Before moving to America, I lived the first half
my life in New Zealand and the second half in
Australia, to the day. I lived on the east
coast of New Zealand, then on the east
coast of New South Wales in Australia,
and now I live on the east coast of the
United States in New Jersey. In a world
of unexpected intrusions, which always have the
potential to derail us, there is comfort found
in landmarks the Lord gives us and by believing
that "The steps of a good man are ordered by the
Lord..." (Psalm 37:23).
LANDMARKS
Landmarks are important to our lives, especially
in a world of shifting sands, where curved balls
and the unexpected can jolt us out of the
security of our hopes, dreams, and plans. Even
when leaders fail and we all feel the effect, or
things don't turn out as we expected, it's a
time to look back to the landmarks of our lives
and re-establish our bearings.
There is an immovable Rock that we can use to
keep ourselves on course, no matter what chaos
may come, not only through this life but in the
life to come. To me, He is Jesus!
What's your landmark...? #
