we might be on the move again. correction: we are still in transition. the danes, it seems, have nowhere to lie their heads. our latest adventure is a possible long term move to the pearl of the orient. even that is still questionable at the moment. luke’s visa has been rejected for the 10 000th time and we are in the middle of an appeal.
recently, we are at the point of our faith where we are beginning to dig deeper. understanding certain principles and repercussions of certain actions even if they are/were not committed by us. in romans 13:1-7 – Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. now what has this got to do with us and this specific time on our lives? after getting his visa rejected multiple times in multiple countries, it’s time to stop singing the story-of-our-lives tune and to consider why this is a pattern.
so what are the possible reasons?
1. God’s will – are we deaf or blind? is there a particular door in life that we aren’t opening and that’s why we are stuck in the corridor? maybe but does God need to try so hard? we have been praying and trying to listen. i’m sure God’s voice can thunder over all distractions in my life. His ability to talk to me overrides my inability to listen (paraphrased: John Koe, 2013).
2. refusal to submit to authority – mrs danes made a decision many years ago that luke will not comply with compulsory military service. she wants to keep her boy safe so she refuses to allow him to submit to his national duty, lest he be harmed by any firearms in the process. that begun our stream of visa rejection. in verse 2, it says that by rebelling, we bring judgement onto our selves. consider this, by going against certain Godly principles (much like boundaries given to protect us), we open ourselves up to consequences/judgements. Even if this was a decision made by mrs danes, luke had to sign the papers indicating his refusal to national service and thereby forfeiting his citizenship.
now reason 1 is often used by many fellow believers for many situations. while i don’t disagree with God’s will for our lives and how that may result in failures (however that is measured by the individual in his/her context) or the feeling of going nowhere, i think reason 2 provides a better explanation for our predicament. we could just say that oh i guess God wants us to be somewhere else and just move from place to place and maybe eventually back to luke’s country of current citizenship; or we can start reading God’s word, dig a little deeper and understand the application in our lives. in this case, we are leaning towards the latter. with this new understanding, i believe we can better seek God for the breakthrough we need.
hopefully, this plays out soon and i can explore our next place of residence
it's nothing personal 