What Happened??

⁹ A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.

How wonderfully and gloriously are we made!!  We have the capabilities to dream, imagine, and plan! I am reminded of the wisdom of Spiderman here, (yes, I have two boys and a husband-so I am well versed in superheroes!!) “With great power comes great responsibility”.   It is true that we have so much power and so much potential.  Our God also released us into free will, so that, all of this power and potential can be used for good or for evil.  How glorious when there is a communion between spirit and mind as we walk out the Lord’s will for our lives!  To cast aside personal gain, success and fortune and to rely on Him to walk us through the path that He ordained for us before there was time, requires active participation with our hearts and our mind.  We need to be in constant communion with our creator to stay in His steps and out of our own.  James reminds us that as we decrease, He increases.  We are looking at the upside down, right side up of Kingdom living, where to live is to die and to die is gain.

Each week we seem to be looking at the issue of faith and trust.  For me the bottom line is this: Do I trust Him enough to let go of all of my expectations and release into the wonder of the uncertainty? That’s a big question, isn’t it?  We can plan our ways, we can dream and imagine, schedule and walk towards our expected end result. I have to remember, that as a woman, I invest in things that I am dreaming into. As I am walking out the imaginings of my heart, I am believing in them and investing in them with my heart and mind.   Let’s face it: it is tough when those dreams are uprooted and we are cast in another direction!  It is hard, when we think we were following the Lord’s promptings and it all "falls apart"!

There have been more than a few times in my life where I have been “redirected”.  In the season I have felt like I was following the Lord’s leading and enjoying the fruit of the season.  There was a time that I was going into the prisons and working with inmates and addicts. I walked with them upon their release and helped them get the help that they needed.  I gained trust and relationship behind bars, so that they would have someone to call when they got out.  I had an email ministry that sent into the state prisons, and my “blue card” so that I could go in jails and prisons to serve.   And then one day…..I wasn’t. Literally, the mission field dried up overnight for me.  For reasons I still don’t understand I was moved on by the Lord.  I still don’t understand!  I have been moved out of churches and I can look back and see God’s wisdom in relocating me, I have been called out of ministries and I see the hand of God opening bigger doors.  It has been 4 years and I still don’t understand the prison ministry being taken.  I may never know this side of glory.  I do trust that something was done in me, through Him, that had to get done before I could walk into my next assignment

Frustrated in the moment, I am now ok with it. I trust in Him and in His plans for my life.  I am willing to sit back and watch His plans unfold around me, a beautiful tapestry.  He does work all things out for good, I can attest to this through my many “relocations” as of late. He has a better plan for me, more than I can fathom or imagine.  I can plan and dream, but I can’t invest so heavily in my dreams, that I squash out the Lord. 

Let’s pray:

Lord help me in my moments of frustration and sadness as you relocate me and my family—from the known into the unknown. Abraham had to start walking, not knowing where he was being called to.  Help us to have that kind of faith, that simply obeys and walks as You have the final say in our plans!