Wondering What God’s Will is For Your Life?

I saw this Fall embellished version of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – read it, took it to heart, and, whoa-la -- my blog for today! Thanks, God, for the inspiration! I love it when I see and hear from Him. I’ve always said, my blogs are for me AND you!

Clearly, this verse from 1 Thessalonians 5, speaks more about God’s will being in our actions than His actions. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for THIS IS GOD’S WILL for you in Christ Jesus.” When we do our part – staying in a mindset of rejoicing, pursuing Him in prayer and having an attitude of gratitude IN ALL circumstances – we can let go, and LET GOD! BTW – notice the scripture says “…give thanks IN all things” not FOR all things. So in the middle of an illness or a crisis of some kind….right smack dab IN the middle of “the things”, we thank God for His goodness, love, mercy, and grace. That is HIS will for us.

God knows the beginning to the end of our story and when we live in sheer resolve to keep Him up front in our lives – His will, just naturally, is a part of every action, reaction, decision and follow-through. But, dear Lord, how can I rejoice ALWAYS, pray CONTINUALLY, and give thanks IN ALL circumstances? That sounds like a waaay over-the-top, unrealistic challenge! But God never speaks in “impossibilities”. He is always "all things are possible” speaking! I believe that we can ALWAYS purposely focus on our heart’s attitude. It expresses itself throughout the day with silent prayers of vital communication with the LORD. We can always be "on line" with God so when the Holy Spirit moves us to pray, we can instantly agree with Him. When in agreement with the Holy Spirit, we are praying continuously. The heart attitude of praying without ceasing means an ever-open heart to the Lord’s leading.

If we are praying without ceasing -- even while driving, changing the baby, washing dishes, or running a lawn mower -- we can be open to the leading of the Spirit when He urges us to pray for something or someone. We all need a refresher course in clearing our heads and hearts to hear directions from Heaven-Central! And, when we stay connected to the “hot line” by rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks in all circumstances….we can be assured God’s plans and will are being done on earth as they are in heaven.

Where we are – He is and when we trust Him as we’re doing our part to rejoice, pray and give thanks – He gives us peace and understanding. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5,6). Get that? We’re “IN ALL HIS WAYS” when He gets our attention. We don’t have to look far or go far --- because He’s already there.

I’ll Take a Cloud…or Two

This day a year ago I was all caught up in gratitude for the rain, cooler temperatures and the Fall season that was in the air. I spent the day getting my Fall décor out and turning my home into a place of pumpkin spice aromas and colors of oranges, yellows and browns. But, not this year. It seems Summer doesn’t want to give way just yet! So, as in the title of this blog – I’ll take a cloud or two that gets this Fall party started.

But, actually, I’m not moving in that direction with this post. I’m thinking of the “cloud” that went ahead of the Israelite wilderness wanderers. “By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way …” (Exodus 13:21). I’m big on putting my faith and trust in the Unseen God. But, there are just some days when a cloud or two would be awesome in pointing the way for me. Perhaps you’re like me and you could sure use some reinforcement on some difficult decisions you and your family are making. I spend a lot of time searching for supportive Scriptures and always hope to glean a definitive, holy answer to my questions. I stay alert for any trace of God speaking. I want to hear His voice loud and clear. I look for patterns in things I read or heard. And, continually, I seek precise affirmation in the choices I am leaning toward.

It’s easy during those times of waiting, seeking, and knocking for our thoughts to run rampant. “What if I make a wrong decision? What if I thought I heard God’s voice, but instead it was just my own emotions or feelings controlling my thoughts? Is it too much to ask for a blinking neon arrow dropped down from Heaven to point the way?”

Instead of allowing frustration and angst to overwhelm us, maybe it’s time to chill – relax and stop trying to figure everything out. Maybe the better thing is to stop looking and listening for a blaring answer from God – and to simply ease into a place of “coming into His presence with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise” (Psalm 95:2) – to simply sit at His feet and indulge ourselves in Him. Praying for wisdom, clarity and guidance about how to move forward. Praying for peace and hope to fill our hearts and minds — leaving no room for confusion and negative thoughts. Praying that decision-making would be an extension of our faith, not an exhaustion of our efforts.

That "cloud" phenomenon guided the Israelites during the daytime. We could sure use a holy cloud to guide us, Lord! But, instead of a cloud, we have cloudy minds and we worry we’ll make wrong decisions or we can’t even make a decision at all. We also feel lost in the wilderness, If they would have trusted more and complained less, the direct path would have been only an eleven-days journey instead of their 40-years journey. Hearing that makes my thoughts become less cloudy and I rest in knowing God is our guide. If we walk down the right path, God is there with us. If we take a wrong turn, He is still there, redirecting us, guiding us and leading us out of the wilderness. In fact, He may take us down the most difficult journey, with full intention of growing our faith along the way.

We may not have a cloud we can see with our eyes, but we can trust God is always leading the way. God may lead us into the wilderness, and He may even guide us there to camp for a while, but He will never leave us there. Regardless of the decisions we make, we’ll never be on any path alone.

Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

Had Any Knee Jerk Reactions Lately?

This weekend's activities weren’t a knee-jerk reaction. It was well planned to go to Tulsa for my two 77-year old friends’ wedding. How could I miss a sweet love story celebration? I knew I just had to make the trip. I know it will be worth it.

On Thursday, I helped a dear friend that's going through a divorce move some of her things. Her movers were coming on Saturday. She’s been taking her time on this move because it included a lot of decisions to be made. After prayer, she had new insight about some complications of moving on the weekend instead of during the week. I overheard her talking to a friend who was questioning her reasons, but she told her friend: “Please don’t question my reasons, God directed me when to move!” She was strategizing with God's wisdom and direction.

These two sets of friends are making some really big decisions and both are seeking God for His direction. There are plenty of times when we all have huge decisions to make. "Should I say “yes” or should I say “no”. Should I stay or should I go?" And there were times when rather than waiting to hear the voice of God, we just can't sit idly still. So, with a knee-jerk reaction, we GO.....only to realize we put the cart before the horse...er..rather, we put our ways before God's ways.

What happened to the instruction from our loving, all-knowing Father? ”Be still and know that I am God!” (Psalm 46:10) But we can't just sit STILL long enough to get the plan from THE MAN. So we head out on our own. A friend told me she really made a mess of a hasty decision and became quite disappointed in herself. She went to see her Mom and her downcast attitude caused her mother to say, “I know that look! So, you had to be in charge again, instead of letting God be charge?"

We can sure get ourselves into some messes. We make those decisions without consulting God and we forward aggressively. Then suddenly we’re overcome with a loss of peace and a troubled heart. Our “knee-jerk” reaction propels us into unknown territory because we made some regretful decisions.

Here’s what I love about this faith journey we are on. Though we may start out our day as independent, self-willed "can-do" people, and we may get ourselves into some crazy situations that may come as a surprise to us, they are not a surprise to God. In spite of our knee-jerk reactions, God is still our loving Father. And, like our kids who repeatedly do something that we’ve told them a hundred times not to do, we lovingly reel them back in with correction and help them through the mess they got themselves into. That's how much God loves us too!

God’s character can be trusted. God delights in answering our prayers, but He doesn’t always answer how we think He should answer. I think I have great ideas about how my life should go. I think I know what is best, but then I remember that He knows better. He knows the end from the beginning. He knows what outcome will bring about His purposes. He wants to bless us with good things: health, wholeness, peace, joy, and rest. When I pray and I feel as though He is silent or not letting me in on the game plan, I have to trust that there is a purpose to what He hasn’t told me. He doesn’t hide things from us to hurt us. He will allow us in on His plans in His perfect timing. His perfect timing is the timing that places us at the right place at the right time with what we need for ultimate blessings.

Thankfully, when we're impulsive and have knee-jerk reactions, our loving Father gently jerks us back on course to help us finish the race we've started.