More on Salty Living
Creative Commons via Krissan on Flickr
I complained to Chris recently that I've started Leviticus in my daily Bible plan. I'm not ashamed to admit I have trouble reading the law books. But I started reading, and sent up a quick prayer that God would show me what He wants me to see, in spite of my misgivings about the book.
God answered my prayer.
You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt. (Lev. 2:13)
Salt! I love to read about salt in the Bible! Diving into the scripture revealed something very interesting. The "salt of the covenant" was included in all of the offerings, according to MacArthur's commentary, because it was emblematic of permanence or loyalty to the covenant. The ESV notes are similar, saying the salt "could thus serve to constantly remind Israel of the permanent nature of its covenant relationship with the Lord."
If I ever needed a reminder of the permanent nature of my covenant relationship with the Lord, it's now. The support-raising process is slow and we are anxious to get to Spain. We find ourselves doubting our calling because the preparation is taking awhile. God has managed longer waiting rooms (pretty sure no missionary ever took 40+ years to get to the field). But we also receive reminders of the purpose of this waiting room: preparation and equipping. The formal education we're pursuing, the opportunities to serve people and to share the Gospel, the types of people we meet, and the time we spend praying and seeking God's wisdom in support-raising are shaping us to be better at what God has planned for us to do in Spain.
We wish it could happen sooner, because we long to see people in Spain saved for the Glory of God and living the full life Jesus promises.
In the meantime, I will continue to season my prayers with the salt of the covenant: trust in His timing, His plan, and His ability and responsibility to build our support our team and bring us to Spain.