At our small group last week, my dear friend and brother in Christ shared a bit of wisdom that spoke directly to the heart of my Christian walk at this very moment. He said (in so many words),
"When we're new Christians, we live off the milk of the Word; God shows His grace and mercy so profoundly that we cannot help but run towards Him, wanting to know more and learn of Him. When we've been in the faith a bit longer, He allows seasons and trials in our lives that will cause us to seek Him with more fervency; He hides Himself a little more than He did at the beginning; not to be spiteful, but because He wants us to eat the meat of the Word and help us really see our need for Him."
Doesn't this show our desperate need for Him? Pain. Trials. Misunderstandings. Paths you thought you were going down but instead you take a sharp turn and find yourself in unfamiliar surroundings...
I cannot pretend to know what God has for my life; I can try and figure it out by praying and moving forward slowly when I'm governed by the peace of God but....do I ever really know??
Nothing surprises God. Even when I make a mistake, He's already got the answer and the purpose it will achieve in my life worked out. I can't 'stump' God. He doesn't even (gasp!) need my assistance in working in my life. Well, there's always obedience tied in to the blessings of God and the richness of knowing Him. But I believe there's something to be said about the life of David; not David the King, not David the Adulterer...but David, the man after God's own heart. The Bible is not secretive or flippant about the sins David committed. He grieved the Father when he sinned against Heaven and against Bathsheba. God, in His infinite mercy, still blessed David and his lineage and called him a man after His (God's) own heart. Wow!
When I was a new Christian, back in 2004, I was in the Word daily and had an almost overnight turnaround from the person that I'd become for nearly 27 years. God still speaks to me in the way He did then, but I have to pursue Him even more than I did five years ago. I've had relationships tested, my faith tested, and even during moments of "Where are you, God?", He continues to be merciful and patient with my unbelief and struggles.
A lot can change from one day to the next. The only thing that is certain is that God Is. If I desire (which I do) to be a woman like David (well, you understand what I mean) who is one after God's own heart, I will seek Him; not for His hand, but for the simple fact that He does not change. Unbelievably sovereign and graciously all-sufficient. I choose today to keep my eyes on Him and leave the details of my life in His care.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever. -Is. 40:8
3 comments:
I think I had told you that I had learned that God is not always leading me where I think I am going. There is always some purpose to those detours.
When deep trials force us to completely surrender and trust Him, the realization comes that God is all we need when He truly is he only answer left. That puts us in a very freeing and serenity filled place.
Sometimes we must take our eyes off ourselves and put them on others. Even when we think that we have it rough and tough; we have it easy compared to the struggles that others are facing. There is a recent post titled "Jump 4 Joy" which I posted a few days ago at PowerUpLove.org, this post made me realize just how lucky I am. My struggles and troubles are so often ones that I've created. I guess what I'm trying to say is; take a look around and see what you can do to make a change not just in your life, but in the lives of others. By focusing on the fix we become part of the solution. In doing this we forget our problems and began to realize and capture the answer to the bigger question which is; why am I here?
The rabbit hole continues to go deeper. I didn't realize upon consummating this journey the distance of the hike. This is what makes Christianity so awesome. Just like the infinite God we serve, the pilgrimmage continues on and on...He takes us places we would never have imagined.
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