God does His best work in the worst of times!

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." So begins "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. I was thinking about those classic words today as I made my way along the 65 mile stretch of highway between Brattleboro and White River Jct., VT. The greatest victories are won in the most daunting challenge; the greatest joys leap from the deepest despair, and the brightest light emerges out of the deepest darkness.

We all want to see miracles, but most of us don't want to be in the circumstances where such miracles are birthed. We want to see expressions of God's awesome power but we shy away from the precipice for fear that God's power will fail us in the time of danger. The disciples rode the terrifying waves in the storm on the Sea of Galilee but it was in this very place they saw Jesus' awesome authority over the seas and the wind. Had they been in a canoe on a shallow pond they would have been safe but God's power would have been hidden from them. We want to observe God's might from a safe distance lest something go terribly wrong.

However, one will not be exposed to the miracle without first being exposed to the danger. You cannot see the awesome demonstration of His might from a bleacher; you have to be on the playing field; and no one is ever rescued from a safe place. Jesus got into the boat one day with his disciples as they fished close in to the shore and said to them, "Launch out into the deep." When they did - they took in a great catch. You see, you can catch fish in close to the shore, but the really great catch; the miraculous one is out in deep water away from the safety of the shore. To truly enjoy the exhilaration of knowing His great power you have to cast off the shore lines and launch into deep water. The shore lines keep us moored in safety, but we can never truly make the big catch from that place.

As I have gotten older, I have developed a deep hunger to experience more and more of the awesomeness of God. No, I am not interested in the cheap, side show existentialism that so many are willing to settle for but I do want to stand on the deck in the midst of the storm and hope that Jesus will invite me to come to Him on the waves. I planning a trip to Brazil in September, but instead of flying all the way to my destination, I have elected to travel the final 600 miles on a native line boat up the Amazon simply because it seems I have rediscovered a sense of adventure that I think I misplaced for a while.

Our little family camp in White River is facing deep and troubling waters as our historic old facilities have come face to face with the 21st century. We are going to be required to meet codes and standards that quite honestly I don't think we can do. I was thinking about this as the mile posts clipped by on my 6th trip to the camp in 8 days, "We can't do it." However, as the words of Charles Dickens began to sing a little tune in my head I realized we are in precisely the kind of situation where you are supposed to expect the unexpected; hope in the midst of hopelessness, and sing the victory song before the battle is over. This is precisely the place where God can demonstrate His awesome power and absolute authority and take all the glory for Himself. This is "best of times, it is the worst of times," because our Lord always does His best work in the worst of times. It really doesn't matter that we can't do it, because He can.

The miles began to fly by as I made my way back to camp to calculate sheetrock and wiring needs and for a while the burden began to lay just a bit lighter on my heart as I realized that I may be living right square in the eye of a storm - but that's a perfect vantage point from which to see the hand of God with my own eyes.