My wife and I were up talking last night about how hard and confusing at times it is to be a Christian. Oftentimes, we hear about fellow believes who hear the voice of God. Personally, I haven't had that experience, but I am in no way claiming that their experience is invalid. But, I have in fact been led by the Holy Spirit. The problem that I have is that too often I've not followed through on my end of the deal when I feel His leading.
Which leads me to the confusion that I've felt about what God's plan is for my life.
To some degree I have gotten caught up in the "Godly" pursuit of prosperity, thinking that going to church as a family, reading God's Word, living comfortably, having a descent job and a few nice things represents godliness. Yes, I know that this list isn't the full essence of what life as a Christian should be, but sometimes, it's easy to fool yourself into thinking that it's okay to think this way.
I've been wrong.
Let me explain. I've fallen victim of basically, telling God what I want to do, feeling like He placed the desire there, then asking him to lead and bless the effort. And when things don't turn out like I hoped/prayed that they would OR they take longer than I'd like to materialize, I end up confused and frustrated. Why?
Because I've confused the Will of God for the Will of Me.
Truth is...I want to be wealthy. Yeah, I say I want to be in a position to be able to help others and donate in a larger way to causes that are important to me, but if I'm being totally honest, I'd like to be more comfortable. I don't think I'm a flashy person, but I do struggle with resting easy in the care of God's provision. I worry a lot about things I can't control, especially since I feel responsible for taking care of my family.
The problem is that sometimes we (I) want to hear a special word from the Lord regarding the next step in my life. What exactly, Lord should I be doing? Surely, if I'm doing that thing, then a window of heaven will open up and pour me out a blessing too big too receive. There seem to be others who live in this abundance who are seemingly less deserving than myself.
Truth is... I deserve nothing at all. But by the grace of God, He loves me. He gives me enough of his grace everyday to do His will, not mine. Sure, I might be naturally gifted to achieve certain things, but that does not equate with being in the Will of God.
If you (I) want to know the Will of God, I need to look no further than His Word. Seek first the Kingdom of God...(Matthew 6:33). Love God. Love Your Neighbor. Feed the Homeless. Care for the Widows. Repent. Accept Christ's loving sacrifice. Speak Words of Encouragement to Others. Think the Best. Hope for the Best. Keep Good Company. Be Good Company. Serve Others. ETC.... Teach Your Children as Well as others how to do all of the above.
These are just some of the characteristics of a disciple of Christ, doing the Will of God. If God never said an audible Word to me, doing the above would be just fine. The thing about all that stuff up there is that none of it has anything to do with YOU. It's all about everybody else. Serving others.
Our peace and contentment is being zapped away because we are way too consumed with the material outcome of our lives and our personal goals of self satisfaction. We were created to praise God, serve others and have a little fun along the way til we get to Forever with Him.
And no, I'm not saying that you must subject yourself to a life of poverty. If God wants me to be financially wealthy, then I will be, through hard work without sacrificing my the balance to love and serve others. God will equip you to fulfill His Will. Whether you're a multi-millionaire or a janitor, we all have the capacity to serve.
So I am on a new journey to Seek first His Kingdom to do his perfect will and by Faith, he will give me whatever he predestined for me to have to do my part in this world for His glory, and hopefully, once I get out of the way, He'll see fit to give me some special instructions, just for me along the way.
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I am my wife's husband and my kid's Dad. I love God
1 comment:
Reading this through tears this morning. LOVED this post so much. You are speaking directly to my heart. Some days I'm so confused as to what He wants me to do, what my focus or my goals should be. I try not to get caught up in worldly things, but I am in this world, and it's such a hard balance. I want to be in this world, but not of this world! I long to give it all to God and serve and show love and I know deep down, nothing else matters. I get so disgruntled with how caught up people get in material things. Oh, I could go on and on.
I will be back to read this post over again. Thanks for speaking from your heart. You inspire me!
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