I can't begin to tell you just how many times I have asked myself, What does God want me to do in this situation? Sometimes it's a real challenge to see God's will. Even when you're walking with Him by reading His Word on a regular basis, by being around other believers and bouncing ideas off of them, by going to God in prayer...sometimes all these things are a REAL challenge.
Have you ever heard the expression: That was a clear as mud! This time last year I often described my life as looking into the Mississippi River looking for the bottom. (And if you haven't done this, try it sometime. There is a reason they call it the Muddy Mississippi.)
This time last year I was sitting at my desk scanning the internet looking for a job and thinking where is God. Why would He want me to be without a job, something that had only happened one other time in my life? God knows I have six kids and wife to provide for, doesn't He? I struggled to find peace in His Word, I struggled to accept the guidance from the brothers that He had placed in my life, and most of all I struggled to accept that I wasn't as valuable as I had perceived myself to be. It was a major reality check for me personally and spiritually speaking.
I took this time for what it was. A time in the valley for God to teach me patience and to teach me to abide in His power and not my own. Nowhere was there a magic writing in the sky that showed me options for employment or where I should go or what I should be doing. What did God want from me? Where was He leading me? These are questions that I not only asked, in fact, I often found myself screaming at God at the top of my lungs, exasperating myself to no avail. The answers I sought would not come the way I wanted or where I expected. It was the longest three months in my short life.
Sometimes it's obvious what decision to make and still stay in God's will. Sometimes it's more challenging, and you have to prayerfully follow your heart - after all He is the one that created it and knows exactly what is in it anyways.
During this time, I read Luke 22:42, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." How dare I ask God to take my suffering, my pain, my anguish, and my stress when He wouldn't even take it off of His own Son! Jesus knew where His life was heading and He never even flinched. He knew the plan that had been determined long before and He knew what His Fathers ultimate goal was, He knew that He was to bear the sin of the world and bear the wrath of God for the punishment of all our sins. If had known what God actually had planned during this time would I have accepted up front or would I have asked for God to remove me and push me through to the other side? I can honestly say I wouldn't trade it. I learned more about myself, I learned who my "real" friends were, and God showed me what He expects from me. It was a difficult time but a necessary one.
What about you? Where is your challenge today? It may be understanding where He is leading - it may not be clear at all. It may be trying to understand why you can't find a job. It may be wondering when God will bless your family with children. It may be clear as crystal, but something that makes you uncomfortable - forgiving a friend or family member that has wounded you, taking a step in faith to pursue a new career, relocating to a new city or another country, or any other stressful decision or situation that you can imagine.
Know this : Clear or not, if you let Him, the Lord will lead...and He will be with you. When you allow Him He will clear the water and it won't be so muddy and only then will you see where you are going.
Have you ever heard the expression: That was a clear as mud! This time last year I often described my life as looking into the Mississippi River looking for the bottom. (And if you haven't done this, try it sometime. There is a reason they call it the Muddy Mississippi.)
This time last year I was sitting at my desk scanning the internet looking for a job and thinking where is God. Why would He want me to be without a job, something that had only happened one other time in my life? God knows I have six kids and wife to provide for, doesn't He? I struggled to find peace in His Word, I struggled to accept the guidance from the brothers that He had placed in my life, and most of all I struggled to accept that I wasn't as valuable as I had perceived myself to be. It was a major reality check for me personally and spiritually speaking.
I took this time for what it was. A time in the valley for God to teach me patience and to teach me to abide in His power and not my own. Nowhere was there a magic writing in the sky that showed me options for employment or where I should go or what I should be doing. What did God want from me? Where was He leading me? These are questions that I not only asked, in fact, I often found myself screaming at God at the top of my lungs, exasperating myself to no avail. The answers I sought would not come the way I wanted or where I expected. It was the longest three months in my short life.
Sometimes it's obvious what decision to make and still stay in God's will. Sometimes it's more challenging, and you have to prayerfully follow your heart - after all He is the one that created it and knows exactly what is in it anyways.
During this time, I read Luke 22:42, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." How dare I ask God to take my suffering, my pain, my anguish, and my stress when He wouldn't even take it off of His own Son! Jesus knew where His life was heading and He never even flinched. He knew the plan that had been determined long before and He knew what His Fathers ultimate goal was, He knew that He was to bear the sin of the world and bear the wrath of God for the punishment of all our sins. If had known what God actually had planned during this time would I have accepted up front or would I have asked for God to remove me and push me through to the other side? I can honestly say I wouldn't trade it. I learned more about myself, I learned who my "real" friends were, and God showed me what He expects from me. It was a difficult time but a necessary one.
What about you? Where is your challenge today? It may be understanding where He is leading - it may not be clear at all. It may be trying to understand why you can't find a job. It may be wondering when God will bless your family with children. It may be clear as crystal, but something that makes you uncomfortable - forgiving a friend or family member that has wounded you, taking a step in faith to pursue a new career, relocating to a new city or another country, or any other stressful decision or situation that you can imagine.
Know this : Clear or not, if you let Him, the Lord will lead...and He will be with you. When you allow Him He will clear the water and it won't be so muddy and only then will you see where you are going.
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