• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Called To Worship

Biblical reflections and resources for thoughtful worshipers and worship leaders

  • Your Guide to Worship Renewal
  • Authors
  • Support
  • Man in the Pew

Grace on the Move: 7 Life Lessons Learned from Moving

Called to Worship – Issue #15
by Phil Mershon 

****WARNING: This post is longer than usual, so you may want to grab a cup of coffee for this chat!! ****

On the move again

I hate moving. I’ve moved 18 times in the last 20 years—12 of them while married. I think I’m qualified to say something negative about moving, but God keeps showing me grace in the midst of moving. I think you’ll find these lessons apply even if life seems quite stationary.

My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this grace.

1 PETER 5:15 (NLT)

Grace #1 – Moving forces us to deal with unaddressed issues

I've never owned so many banana boxes!

Every time I move I try to go through the boxes of things I’ve left unpacked from the last move. Unfortunately, I don’t always succeed. In fact, with each move there seems to be a larger number of boxes that don’t get addressed. Before one move, I rented a dumpster to unload accumulated junk so we wouldn’t move it again.

I’m afraid that happens in my relational life. I keep avoiding issues by putting it in the storage room of my heart. There’s a problem with stored garbage…

Grace #2 – If we keep stuffing life’s garbage, it will eventually start to reek.

One of the moving services we hired was so thorough they even packed our garbage for us. You can imagine our surprise 6 weeks later when we moved into our new house and started unpacking our boxes. Fortunately, they didn’t pack any perishables, but can you imagine if they had…EWWW!!!

If we could see inside the boxes stuffed in the crevices of our heart, I think we would find all kinds of garbage packed around the gems. Only a true friend will tell you your clothes stink. Likewise, it sometimes takes a friend to tell us our heart stinks.

SONG: Hopefully your relationships won’t end like this Johnny Cash song:

Grace #3 – Moving gives us a chance to start some new patterns. So does grace.

One advantage of moving is that your new friends have no idea how you used to live (not quite as true in this day of social media where your new and old friends all share in your life). At least you have a mental opportunity to turn over a new leaf and start a diet or a new morning routine.

The good news of the gospel gives you that chance every day. You don’t have to wait for a move or a major catastrophe.

Look at what God promises in Lamentations and start claiming that truth every morning. This brings refreshment to my weary soul:

 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
LAMENTATIONS 3:22-23

 SONG: Be encouraged by this moving rendition of Great is Thy Faithfulness by Ce Ce & Delores Winans:

Grace #4 – Moving creates stress and stress exposes fractures in your relationships. Grace is the only salve to be trusted.

Moving can be like a pressure cooker—especially in your relationships. Pressure cookers can work wonders, unless the sealing ring is broken. The same is true in our relationships. If we have strong, loving relationships based on grace, we can endure unbelievable pressure. But if there are untreated fissures, the stress of a move can be cataclysmic.

That’s why the Apostle Paul’s reminder is so critical:

 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
EPHESIANS 4:32

 Grace #5 – Grace enables gracious goodbyes and hellos.

 I love meeting new people, but its difficult to say goodbye to friends and neighbors. I have to remind myself that for Christians we never say “goodbye,” but “see you later.” The Apostle Paul (who moved a whole lot more than I have) always closes his epistles with words that have become far too ordinary to our ears. He knows the three things that his distant friends need:

 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
2 CORINTHIANS 13:14 (emphasis added)

 SONG: My favorite goodbye song has to be Michael W. Smith‘s Friends

 

Grace #6 – Moving reminds us that we’re not home—yet

The people of Israel wandered for forty years in the wilderness. Jesus said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Luke 9:58) Man has been moving ever since God kicked Adam out of the garden. One day we will be restored to God’s heavenly garden.

Until that day comes, moving is part of life. Some will get to stay in the same house for forty years like my parents. Others will live in eighteen homes in twenty years like me. Regardless, we are all looking forward to our new home where there will be no more moving.

SONG: A friend recently introduced me to this classic by David Phelps. It’s a great reminder that in heaven there will be No More Night (and no more moving!):

Grace #7 – Moving points us to Jesus’ mission

Once Jesus started his earthly ministry, he was constantly on the move. It seems he didn’t stay anywhere for more than a few days. He left each village saying he had other lost sheep to find. He also moved with purpose toward his destined crucifixion. He never waivered from that path.

Just as God ordered Jesus’ steps, we can move through this life with confidence that God is ordering our steps—no matter what.

SONG: Check out Hail, Thou Once Despised Jesus by Zac Hicks. (Click on the song once on his website).

Bringing it home

How have you found grace in the midst of life’s journeys?

September 16, 2011 By Phil Mershon

Send me updates

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. akismet-8c67f271f59b8dd9451fb29a0d18c8e3 says

    September 17, 2011 at 3:09 pm

    Thanks for this inspiring post Phil. Excellent choice of music by the way 😉
    I’m reminded of moving here over 12 years ago from half-way across the world. Left family/friends/every familiar thing, to come to a new place. When I got here, I was so blown away with what I saw that the memory of home faded quickly. I’m fortunate that my moving experience was so successful. I think that’s kinda what we have to look forward to when the time comes to make that final move: “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” And I love what David Phelps says in that song “No more night”: ‘…Over there, there’s a mansion that’s prepared, just for me….where I will live with Christ eternally….’
    Moving may not always be pleasant, but I think the best move is yet to come, and I’m looking forward to it 🙂

  2. pmershon says

    September 17, 2011 at 8:28 pm

    Thanks for your thoughts, Patricia. I agree that our best move is yet to come. I also failed to mention that I have often thought that part of Adam’s curse that he brought on all of us is moving. Ever since he left the Garden, mankind has been on the move!

Primary Sidebar

CalledtoWorship

CalledtoWorship

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Recent Posts

  • Enduring the Grind: How to Keep Perspective
  • Why Can’t I Draw Close To God in Worship?
  • Releasing the Grip of Greed from our Giving
  • Living on the Edge of a Cliff: How to Worship When Life Gets Hard
  • How to Overcome a Root of Bitterness in Worship

Archives

  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • February 2013
  • December 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • February 2011
  • December 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010

Categories

  • Christian Worship
  • Prayer
  • Preparation for Worship
  • Reviews
  • Uncategorized
  • Worship Leadership

Tags

bible biblical artistry Bob Kauflin called to worship Casting Crowns contemporary music contemporary worship culture Dan Allender faith Georges Rouault God of this City Gospel gospel-centered grace Grace Has Come Harbor Presbyterian Church Hillsongs Indelible Grace Isaiah 53 Jesus John Newton Larry Crabb Laura Story Martin Luther Matt Redman missions prayer Prepare to worship psalms sheep Sovereign Grace Sovereign Grace Music Steven Curtis Chapman Tenth Avenue North theology tim keller Tommy Walker worship worship in spirit and truth worship leader worship leading worship planning worship songs Zac Hicks

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
  • Your Guide to Worship Renewal
  • Authors
  • Support
  • Man in the Pew

Copyright © 2023 · Made with by dustn.tv