I always have loved looking at maps, to try and figure out the places I want to visit one day or to mark those locations where I have already been. But there was a period in my childhood when I was obsessed with the late-medieval map style that included the inscription, “Here be dragons.” It took me a while to realize that these markings did not actually show where dragons lived (especially as I desired to go there and try to slay them with a wooden sword and cardboard shield) but rather that those locations on the map existed beyond what the cartographers knew. For the Israelites, the open waters of the sea were locations that defied their knowledge. They sought to demystify some of their fear of the sea by saying that the great beast, Leviathan, lived within its waters.
Most of us have those difficult moments in life when we want to look to God and ask the simple question, “Why me?” When we find ourselves in these moments, we often forget two other questions: “Why not me?” and “What does God seek from this time?” Because Job endured such a time of suffering, his name has become synonymous with those who experience great strife. Job questions the Almighty as to why he needed to suffer that time of trial. God’s response is simple: “I am God, and I know what plans I have, not only for you, but for all of Creation.”
At Peachtree, our mission statement is “Joining Christ daily in the restoration of all things.” For us, it is truly our mission to work towards God’s restoration. While there are times when we can see clearly God’s intended path for us, at other times the journey seems shrouded in fog. Regardless of how clear or how clouded everything around us may be at any given moment, we know for sure that God is sovereign and the plans He has laid for us always work toward the restoration of all things.