I just had a conversation with a group of guys about God's will. We were talking about Pastor Rob's message from this past weekend. Something he said really stuck with me. "Many times we are waiting on God when He is waiting on us." You see - sometimes the green light is right in front of us, but we sit, unmoving, because we can't see past ourselves. We are too self absorbed to notice that God is waiting for us to go!
One of the guys mentioned a friend they had who had moved all the way across the country. He had moved to work with a Christian ministry. He really believed before the move that this was God's will. He believed that God had called him to move his family several thousand miles to work with this ministry. 4 years later he is questioning the move. In fact - he is moving back. Apparently there have been a lot of difficulties, a lot of "closed doors" along the way. He is thinking maybe this wasn't God's will after all! Really?
Are we out of God's will when things don't go according to our plans? When I am uncomfortable, when things don't go my way, does that mean I am out of God's will?
We have created a culture of comfort seeking Christians. I mean, after all, God wants me to be happy, right? So if I am struggling, hurting, or facing any kind of difficulty along the way, I must be out of God's will! That's what we say. That's crazy.
Moses was clearly called by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. God spoke to him through the burning bush. It doesn't get much clearer than that. Yet, several months into their wilderness journey, things weren't going so great. The people were complaining. Food was running low. Water was hard to come by. Disputes were breaking out. It wasn't really a lot of fun. It was a very difficult time. Did Moses do the wrong thing? Should they return to Egypt just because things were hard?
Just because everything is going according to your plan, does not in any way mean that you are not in God's will! God never once called us to be happy, to be comfortable, to 'enjoy' every step of the way. He did promise poverty and persecution.
Are you in God's will? Don't be too quick to say no! Check your heart, check your motives, remember your calling. But don't run and hide just because things are not going according to your plan.
1 comment:
Just had this conversation with a friend tonight. We were talking about whether decisions are easy or hard for us- are we decisive.... and why.... I find I'm most decisive when I choose to open up to the Lord and really listen. The answer's clear, and I never look back. Sometimes it can be disarming to others who take a longer time to decide. I don't know, maybe they are better at praying and taking their time about it. But I feel very much at peace with meditating in the Lord for not too long a time, feeling peace with an answer, and just doing it- no fear. Reckless or God fearing. What do you think?
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