Moving with the Navy and God

Moving with the Navy is an opportunity to be "pruned" by God to make you more fruitful for His glory and your benefit. Being "cut off" from your family, friends, house, etc. and planted in a strange new place can have its positive aspects IF we keep God’s perspective and flow with it instead of fighting it. For some strength for the ordeal, chew on these thoughts and verses the next time your family gets orders to move.

1. A Few Examples of Movers in the Biblical Hall of Fame: God Himself, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness, Jesus. (And they’re all watching US move.)

2 Samuel 7:5-6 "Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling."

Hebrews 11:8-10 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. [And he moved at least 15 times] By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Hebrews 11:13-16 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11:24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

Hebrews 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible.

Luke 9:57-58 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

2. God (not the Navy) is in control of when we move and where, and has a divine purpose for our moves.

Acts 17:26-28 From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ^‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Numbers 9:17-18 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.

3. His timing is not always predictable or "convenient"…

1. A test of FAITH: Do we believe His love for us and His power to provide for us, discipline us for our good, protect, and lead us? (If so, we’ll show it by obedience to His Word and our praise.)

Deuteronomy 8:2-5 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert thee forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lords. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.

Deuteronomy 8:15-16 He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert…to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you.

Deuteronomy 1:30-33 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place." In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

John 15:1-2, 5 "I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he trims clean [prunes] so that it will be even more fruitful… I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

2. A test of OBEDIENCE; Do we resist the temptation to grumble, get discouraged, worry, fear, rebel, resent the loss of our proximity to relatives and friends, or loss/damage to our "earthly treasures" and decorated houses?

1. We should persevere in our faith in spite of difficulties: with faith in God, His Word, His power, and His loving purposes for us.

Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great clod of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?

Hebrews 12:10-12 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.

2. We should be praising and thanking Him as a sign of our faith. (not complaining like the Israelites in the wilderness).

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.

3. We should be sharing God’s Word and our earthly things with others for God’s glory wherever we move.

Mark 16:15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation…" [but unlike Paul, we get to go at the Navy’s expense! Ever think of yourself as a government sponsored missionary? The more places they move you the more places you can plant "seeds" for God and help others n the body of Christ.]

1 Timothy 6:17-19 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Hebrews 13:14-16 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Philippians 4:12-13 … I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation …I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.

4. He will reward us with a home someday with Him.

1. God is in the moving business.

1. Some Biblical examples: God, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and the Israelites, Jesus.

2. God (not the Navy) is in control of when and where we move, and has a divine purpose for our moves.

3. His timing is not always predictable or "convenient"…

2. Moving can be a TEST from God for our own benefit.

1. A test of FAITH (believe His love, goodness, and power)

2. A test of OBEDIENCE (trust, submit, share, and praise Him)

3. Moving is an OPPORTUNITY for proper response to God.

1. Persevere in faith in spite of difficulties.

2. Pray and thank Him even in the midst of it all.

3. Share God’s Word and earthly things with others as we go.

4. Remember He’ll reward us with a permanent home with Him someday and all this moving will be over!