We moved to Egypt with a two-year commitment with our ministry. As years went by, we kept extending our time here, fully confident that God wanted us in Egypt.

Then one year that confidence shifted as my husband and I both felt that our time in Egypt was coming to an end. We were surprised because while neither of us wanted to leave our life and community in Egypt, we felt a shift in the focus of our ministry. We asked God and He continued to show us His direction. 

We realized He had led us in similar ways when we began the process for adoption. He stirred up a desire in our hearts – a good desire that required dependence on His provision. Then He affirmed that desire through His word in our personal Bible reading, in church services, and through the prayers of our friends. Moving forward toward adoption required us to depend on Him to provide finances, logistics, support, and emotional endurance.  

Psalm 37 encourages us to trust in the Lord and delight in Him (v3,4), to commit our way to the Lord and wait to see Him act (v5,7). I know that God is not at our beck and call, to respond to our desires in the way we want. I have learned that as I trust in His sovereignty and His lovingkindness toward me, I see how He sets a path before me to walk and delight in (v23). As I commit myself to this path, He makes my footsteps firm, preparing the path for me according to His plans, not mine. 

It is not my desire to leave Egypt, but I do want to follow God’s direction for me. As I trust Him and delight myself in His goodness to me, I find that I can delight in the path He has set before me, the ministry He has asked me to take on, and all the wonders He has yet to show me.