“A righteous man’s….heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.”  Psalm 112:8

An event in our time living in the Middle East

A notice finally arrived from the police to come and get the reply to our application for new residence permits. We had expected a “yes,” since we knew of no reason for any other answer. To our surprise and amazement, however, we not only got a “no,” but were told that we had to leave the country within 24 hours!

The reason for expulsion, the police said, was “top secret” so they could not tell us why we were being deported just 18 months after we had arrived. Following some intense “discussion” we were granted 10 days to finish our business and get out.

To say the least it was a shock. After years of planning and preparation to come here, after raising support and leaving all that was familiar and safe for what was different and dangerous, after all the effort of language learning and cultural adjustment, we are now to be suddenly thrust out of this new land that we had adopted. And it would be a shock to our boys (the younger one in picture) who had just gotten settled in to their new culture.

Had we make a mistake in coming here? No, God’s Word stands strong. Psalm 112 was my touchstone with reality: “The man who fears God…has no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in God” (Ps. 112:6). So, our expulsion was not really bad news and the Lord would give new direction. He had a plan here, although we couldn’t see it yet. But there was good to come, I was sure of that.

I will share the outcome of this adventure tomorrow.