“You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them—a land flowing with milk and honey. And they came in and took possession of it, but they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them.” Jeremiah 32:22-23

Tenants

Walk His Way Revisited

The first house my husband and I bought after marrying was in a nice neighborhood in Southern California. We loved its wood floors, spacious rooms, and large front and back yards. We planted beautiful roses and birds of paradise along the street, and in back we had a productive vegetable garden and small orchard.

We lived there several years before the Lord called us, by virtue of a job offer, to move 600 miles north to a town named Palo Cedro, which we had only heard vaguely described as “the country life.” I wasn’t at all sure this call was from the Lord, and was unwilling to sever the ties to our home. We thus rented the home to a family with six children, so that we could move back when things didn’t work out for us. After investigating a bit, I found that the wife worked in the church nursery and was very nice; that was good enough for us. We trusted folks, as a rule.

After signing a basic rental agreement in which a degree of care was to be exercised by the tenants and an amount of money to be paid monthly, we packed our things in a U-Haul, left keys for the family, and drove away. We received one timely rent check over the next year, and that was it. We called, heard all the promises, all the excuses. Eventually we got another partial rent check. We called. The husband lost his job. The wife was depressed. The kids were sick. Please give more time. We gave more time, over and over.

After a year of this, we realized we ought to get down there and check things out. Clearly we did not have the gift of managing rental property! We had given grace, had prayed often for the family, but they were not being good stewards. When we arrived, it appeared the family had left in a hurry. In one bedroom was a six-foot high mountain of clothing. The toilets were thick with blackish-green goo. The hardwood floors had been etched by a sharp red pen that left deep gouges. The kitchen cupboards were full of old cookbooks. The gardens were dead.

We had to evict them, though it appeared they had evicted themselves. We knew we would never see any of the money we were owed, but decided, without bitterness or regret, to let go of our rights. We felt compassion for the family, though we could not afford to allow them to stay. We had to fix the place up as cheaply as we could, and get it sold. Thankfully, it sold quickly and we were done with it, with no ill effects on our heart, mind and spirit, but a few lessons learned about financial matters, responsibility, stewardship, and the sovereign call of God to move us whenever, wherever, and by whatever method He chooses.

This situation came to mind when I read today’s Scripture above. God had given a bountiful land to His people, out of the good will and great love in His heart. They had abused their relationship with the Giver, had not kept their promises, and He had evicted them. They had some lessons to learn and had to make things right with their “Landlord” before they would be allowed to return.

I’m constantly amazed that the very things we experience in this life are things God has experienced Himself. It speaks to me of His understanding of what we are going through. We should never think that He doesn’t know how we feel, because “after all, He is God.” He does know, and He has compassion.

Father, give us wisdom for circumstances that are beyond our control. May we always act in a way that brings You glory, no matter how it affects us in the moment. Amen.