Renowned plantations

I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the LORD GOD. And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 34:25-31

Park Avenue Baptist Church in Atlanta is an answer to some of those prayers prayed around the conference table this year. God was gracious to not only answer our prayer for a suitable housing site, but to answer my prayer that we might find friends in Atlanta as well - a true sense of community, people who care about the ministry of YouthWorks and our staff. I read these words from Ezekiel while sitting on the steps of the church after a stop at the local coffee shop with Pastor Tony. After more than thirty prophetic chapters of death and destruction, chapter 34 brings a turning point - God's promise to seek out the sheep who have been scattered and to provide for them in his pasture. These words were beautiful, refreshing, and as I read along one phrase jumped off the page to me: "And I will provide for them renowned plantations..."

Renowned plantations. A dwelling place where God's sheep would be safe and well-fed. Renowned plantations. The very words connote an image of splendor and wealth, yet I know that my mental picture of such a place is merely a shadow of the renowned plantation that is being built for us in Heaven. Nonetheless, I wondered: could I be sitting on the steps of a renowned plantation at this very moment?

A secure place, where showers of blessing rain down, where God has provided plenty and stands watch to guard his own. Though this aging church may lack worldly renown, God has made it his own, and is using it to show us what a good shepherd he is.

God did not promise to provide the Israelites with renowned plantations for their own benefit; he did it so that they would know that he is the LORD their God with them. Perhaps that is all a place needs to be considered a renowned plantation: to be a place where God's sheep can see and rest safely in his provision, and know with confidence that he is the Lord. I pray that each of my sites would be such a place this summer: from our newfound home at Park Avenue Baptist in Atlanta, to the allegedly bug-invested but still beloved Coahoma Inn in Mississippi, to the school-turned-YouthWorks-site-turned-hurricane-shelter in Marvell, Arkansas to Woodlawn United Methodist church in Birmingham, the mission control center for the Southeast region. In each of these places, may my staff see showers of blessing, may they be fed by the Word of God so they are no longer consumed with hunger, and may they be kept safe from those who would try to prey on them, who would threaten the work that God would do in and through each of them. More than anything, may they KNOW - with child-like faith tempered by the wisdom of true experience - may they know that He is the LORD their God with them.