Change on the Horizon and challenging the unknown

As I was sitting in church today, I found that I sort of tuned out for a moment and God started talking to me.  It is not to say that the Pastor is boring, because he definitely is not!  I really like this church and I feel as if I am learning a lot.  He also challenges me personally, considering that we have met twice already and he recently sent me an email to see how I was doing.  This is all really new to me and it is really refreshing and exciting.

That being said, I felt like God was talking to me about the benefits of being persistent in the face of unknowns in my life.  Attending this church is something that has been in the works since February, but something always stopped me.  During this process, I started to realize a few things in life:

You stay in touch with people you care about.  One excuse for staying where I was is that I wouldn't be seeing a lot of people who have supported me through my hard times, but that does not mean that I can not call them, email them, or message them on Facebook.  We can still get a hold of each other, and I definitely plan to!  I could also stop by every now and then, so I am not falling of the earth either.  Sure, I don't know anyone in the new place, but I will get to know them and I am sure that many great relationships can be formed as well.

One in the hand is better than two in the bush.  Whether it is a job or ministry, I have found that most people only have their own interest in mind.  So if an opportunity comes knocking and the opportunity looks like it is a legitimate blessing, you jump on the opportunity because it may not come around again for a while.  It is worth trying.

If you say that you will never do something again, you are hurting yourself and hurting others.  After being in enough unhealthy ministries and relationships, there were points in my life where I said that I was done with them.  But if I would have held to my “never ever” stance, then I would have never ever had an opportunity with this church and I would have never ever met an amazing and Godly woman.  I am seeking God on everything and taking life day by day, but if I simply said, “Never ever” due to my past then I could miss out on something that could make for an awesome future for myself and others.   

If you never try something different, you could be missing out on something that could be really great.  When I fixate on one idea, I am blocking out other options.  Just because it is comfortable does not mean that it is the best option, or healthiest in that matter.  This is why I have to be open-minded about opportunities around me.  It's like going to McDonald's every day when you could have a healthy home cooked meal.  Sure, you never know what you are getting with the home cooked meal, but I bet it is better for you and it could be better than McDonald's!

So the lesson that I learned today was that change is coming, and I think it will be for the better.  This is why we have to preserver through the unknown.  Once we get on the other side, we will not only have a sense of accomplishment but we will have appreciation for what God has given us.  Whether it is a job, a degree, a ministry, a relationship, a friendship, today could be the day that you take that challenge head on.  But whatever you do, do not let the unknown hold you back from something that could be a gift from God.

Patiently Pursuing God's Will: A Parable

One day, a man and three of his friends went out to hunt.  Even though they were all there for the same purpose, each of them had different goals in mind.  This became evident quickly.

After setting up a camp, the group began to walk towards the field.  The first friend stopped and thought, “You know, I am not sure that I can get anything today, and since I was in a hurry this morning and forgot to eat and pack food, I am awfully hungry.  I do remember on the way in that there was a deer on the side of the road… I can eat it now and not have to wait!”  With that, the man decided to stop and go back to the road.  The other three continued thinking that his quick fix was a bad idea… if it is too easy to access there is usually a good reason. 

As they continued, the group of three bumped into another group who was talking about going after a mountain lion.  The second friend became overwhelmed by the visions of grandeur of catching an illusive animal.  When his two comrades were thinking that it was crazy and not worth pursuing, he left with the other group claiming that his original group will be sorry.  He did not think that hunting a mountain lion was out of his league and experience.

That left two men.  They found a nice perch and waited.  And waited.  The third friend became impatient and jumpy, and decided to start shooting at ANYTHING… and I mean, anything.  Squirrels. Birds. Mice. Anything.  He soon exhausted his ammunition and in the process scared any living creature away due to the racket that he was causing.  The man did not give his third friend his extra ammunition because he knew that he might need it later.  Therefore, the third friend left with his odd assortment of worthless animals.

So the man was left alone.  Though he was disappointed that all of his friends left, he knew that if he got off of the field and quit, then he wasted all of his time.  He waited patiently, and a few rabbits and other animals came into sight.  Knowing that they would not meet his needs, he let them pass.  Finally, a deer came into sight and he took it down.  Patience paid off.

When he returned to camp, he found his three friends.  The one that ate road kill was very sick.  The one who went mountain lion hunting was empty handed.  The man who shot at everything realized that in his haste he had nothing to show for his trip.

So what did this teach me?

If you are pursuing God’s will and whatever you come across is “road kill” (too easy to obtain), you have to be careful and wonder why it was so easy to obtain.  Whether it is a relationship, a job, or a ministry, I have found that in my life that “free” or “easy” comes with baggage and it often times leads to heartaches or headaches.  This is why I have learned to be diligent and not just do something because it is easy and accessible.

If you are trying to figure out if it is God’s will, be sure that it is not your own delusion getting in the way.  Like the mountain lion, some dreams are exactly that... dreams.  It could happen, but putting all of your hope in a hard to obtain goal could leave you disappointed and sometimes disillusioned.  This is why I have what I call my “board of trustees” or "board of directors", which is a group of older Christians who pray for me, ask the right questions, keep me accountable, and provide Godly wisdom so that I can make the right decisions.

When we are waiting for God, it is important not to run after every opportunity that comes our way.  I have learned to turn down jobs, ministries, and relationships that could be good… but not what I feel God wants.  I am slowly learning how the Holy Spirit speaks to me in those moments, and I am learning to rely on the peace that surpasses all understanding rather than deal with the restlessness that ensues outside of God’s Will.  Also, I do my best to test the Spirits so that I know that the goal I am pursing is not a deception, but it is of God.

The man who got his prize waited patiently.  I am learning to be that man, and I hope that those of your who are reading try to be that man as well.  When I listen to my older friends, they rarely say, “wow, I really regret being so patient for God’s will!”  Instead, they usually say, “Yeah, I had to wait and it was a little uncomfortable, but I would do the same thing again because it was right.”  It can be tough, but it is worth it.

I know that a lot of you feel as if you are at a cross roads right now and are sort of stuck on trying to figure out what God’s will for you is.  As someone that is learning to go through this, I hope that this helps:

Be Patient: It is better to wait than to make an impulsive decision you will regret the rest of your life.  Wait for him to tell you something, and then test it to make sure that he is saying it.

Ask:  James writes, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”  Don’t be afraid to ask God, and then talk to people who will be trustees rather than critics.

Make a Move:  If you don’t put your resume out, employers won’t know you are looking for a job.  If you wait for dream date to come to your doorstep, it will end up being the mailman, UPS guy, and the Jehovah’s witnesses. Therefore, standing still gets you nowhere.  You need to make a move, but moving carefully is the key.

Simply put, all of the great stories in the Bible involve making a major move after God’s prompting.  If you want to enjoy your story and allow other people to enjoy your story, you have to make a calculated move after God’s prompting.  I don't know about you, but when I tell my story to people I don't want to bore them to sleep!

My challenge to you is to wait on the good things that God has for you and not to settle for something second rate.  I hope to hear some good stories from you guys!  Until then, have a great week and God Bless you!

God as my Anchor

I have been reading Plan B by Pete Wilson, and it has definitely been a life-changing book for me.  The book is about what happens when “Plan A” fails and you are having to come up with a new goal, new idea, new dream.  For me, most of the book was rehashing a lot of details that I already knew but was being shown to me in a different light.  Then I hit chapter ten.

Chapter ten discusses the topic of what we make our “anchors” in life.  You know, what it is that we seek comfort and stability in when the seas are turbulent.  Wilson shared Ezekiel 16:39-42, and it totally rocked my world:

“and I will give you into the hands of your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish you high places, strip you of your clothing, take away your jewels, and will leave you naked and bare.  They will incite a crowd against you and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.  They will burn your houses with fire and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women.  They I will stop you from playing the harlot, and you will also no longer pay your lovers.  So I will calm my fury against you and my jealousy will depart from you, and I will be pacified and angry no more.”

Give you into the hands of your lovers:  When we force our way into somewhere God does not want us, we will find that those idols are usually self-serving and do not care about us.  We will be benevolent to them and do our best to keep them, but they are less considerate.

Tear down your shrines, demolish your high places:  God will ultimately remove that which is our idol (usually it does not feel so good), but often times he will let it stay in our lives if we continue to entertain it.

Strip you of your clothing, take away your jewels:  As I mentioned earlier, idols are self-serving and they usually don’t give a rip about what we think or want.  Idols do what idols want, they are the possessions that possess.  This is why I do my best to steer clear of them.

When we think of idols, we think of something that we carve or chisel that we sacrifice things to.  The truth is, most idols are either very normal or not seen at all: money, fame, jobs, family, marriage, most start as noble goals but then they try to unseat God.

I am writing this today as a man who open accepts the fact that he was the harlot to things that were not stable, were not holy, and ultimately not God.  I thought that when I was pursuing God and pursuing stability, I was really just trying to get stability and it never came.  I got scared and it clouded my judgment, then I watched the progression in Ezekiel unfold.

I also wanted to share this with everyone today because I would put money on it that so many people out there see this in their lives.  They realize that they are not experiencing the life that they want, and that there are certain things that are interfering with that.  I have struggled with this intentionally and unintentionally, and I know that others do. 

With this in mind, I hope that this helps you understand the way in which idols operate in our lives and impact our lives.  This is serious business, because even though we might love them, they only love themselves and will take everything from us.  So what is our anchor?  God.

I am sure that someone is reading this thinking about how God can be wild, unpredictable, and hard to understand.  But in the words of the beaver in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, “of course he is not safe, but he is good!”  When we trust in the fact that he is good and has our best interest in mind, then we will be willing to seek him and his will knowing that when we try to take our own paths, it usually does not end well.

This is something that I am learning, and I know many others are learning as well.  It takes time and patience, but I have found that in the end, I want God in his rightful place rather than having something else providing false hope.