There is a wonderful group of ladies from a church in the Scottish Highlands which has latched onto our family.

One of them recently pointed us toward Psalm 111 as something she had been praying for us. It is a great Psalm. Christiane and I are reading it together as we begin each day of support-raising and moving preparations. Today, Christiane pointed out all the times that the Psalm says “forever:”

“…his righteousness endures forever” (verse 3)
“…he remembers his covenant forever” (verse 5)
“…his precepts…are established forever” (verse 7-8)
“…he has commanded his covenant forever” (verse 9)
“His praise endures forever” (verse 10)

Righteousness, covenant, precepts, and praise. All of these things are permanent. This was a great perspective setting moment for me. No matter what else comes to pass or what plans fall through, God will always be righteous and his covenant will endure. His precepts will stand firm and his praise will resound throughout the world.

We have a lot of things up in the air right now. But this Psalm brought me back to see that none of what matters most is at stake in our plans working out. God is righteous whether or not we get enough support to move this summer. His covenant is sure whether or not our visas get approved. His precepts are trustworthy and true regardless of if I can pull off this PhD at Cambridge. His praise will continue if our transitions go smoothly or not.

None of these “forever” things guarantee that our plans will work. None of these things that endure promise that our particular aims will materialize. But their persistence tells me that the details of my life are not the most important thing. I rejoice that regardless of the shape it takes, the life of my family will be an outworking of the indestructible endurance of God’s righteousness and covenant, his precepts and praise.

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