Words have power. Written words provide proof. You can read them, and reread them whenever you want. They can speak life to someone who needs encouragement. They can speak death to someone who is being deceived. The choice lies within you. How is it that you want people to remember you? Encourager...that is the gift that God has laid on my heart. To use my written, spoken, and/or sung words to lift people up. To be one link in their road to healing, restoration, joy. I have been without those things, and I claim them to be mine again. If you want me to seek God on a prayer for a specific situation...that is why I am here. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to pray God's Word of Life over you.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

The Undoing Minions (Day EIGHT-30 Day Challenge)

Do you ever feel like the harder you work, the more quickly things seem to get undone. Almost like there are these magical little minions that follow behind and ‘undo’? If your answer is no, then you clearly do not have small children…or you have forgotten what it was like when you did. It’s okay…I will paint the mental picture for you. You KNOW how I love to do that! OR…if you’d like, you can borrow some of my minions for a day week month so that you can truly appreciate where I am coming from. ;-)

It can be frustrating at times, can’t it? You quickly sweep through the house picking up every last tiny thing on the floor that is leaving it cluttered. You get to the last room and look back to take pride in your work. *Heart sinks, blood begins to simmer slightly.* You might as well have just stayed in bed. Everything you did…was undone quicker than you could keep up. Now add dishes in the sink because these minions need an energy source. Add dirty clothes to the floor as they also feel they need ‘fresh’ clothes daily. Pile on more clothes if they decide a pop-up dress-up session 2013 VBS 507  should occur, in which case their ‘fresh’ outfit somehow quickly becomes unfit to wear again. Now add juice to the floor and milk logged cheerios to the breakfast table. *Heart rate picks up, blood starting to boil and slightly over-the-top screaming seems like it should probably commence.* Gahhhh!

What do my minions have to do with faith, you ask? I’m about to go there in 3, 2, 1…

 

How do you think our lives look to God? How many times do you think He leads us down the perfect path for our own personal journey of faith and by our choice we mess it up? We are clipping along and just for a second we glance to the left and right. We take our eyes off the goal. We start to see people on their own paths looking like they are having WAY more fun. Or maybe their path seems so much smoother and easier than this uphill climb we are currently on. Discontentment starts to settle in our hearts. We aren’t even looking forward anymore. Every rock. Random spring '11 034  Every pothole. They are now unseen. We stumble and we blame…who? Where were you on THAT one God?! We roll our eyes and still they continue in their state of roaming. Our focus has not been on our goal in quite some time. We can’t take it any more. We jump paths. And with one thoughtless decision we undo.

I know it is probably not likely…but I like to picture God watching this scenario above. I picture Him on the edge of His throne. Watching and anticipating the choice. Rooting for you to just put your eyes back on your own path. Wanting desperately for you to turn your focus back to Him. But He is not your puppeteer. He is your Creator. So he let’s you choose. He sees that you are stumbling over every obstacle…and He wants you to just pay attention to your own path. He will guide you around them if you’d just choose Him. Focus on Him and even if you stumble He will not let you fall. You selfishly and without thought of Him choose to jump paths…He smacks His forehead and sighs.

Your perfect path is now changed. He can absolutely still work with it. He will, without a doubt, still bless you. He will surely still guide you. But His will got set aside by you…and He longed for more. He had more in store. Your neighbors smooth, easy path that you focused on and then jumped to…has some large mountains ahead. Your friend was going through a time of growth and they are about to be tested in their endurance. Now, you will have to endure the test as well. You will need Him. Do not give up. Set your eyes on Him again and He will restore the time you lost.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28  It is my most quoted verse because this verse covers over every bad decision I’ve made. It covers every bad decision someone else made that effected me. It brings purpose to every painful thing I’ve endured. I’m always learning and never content with what I know. I’m always growing in Christ…and never willing to stay where I am in my relationship with Him. I want more. I desire more. I want to find the purpose of my pain. I want to find the source of my doubt so that I can conquer it in Jesus name. I want to choose on purpose what will push me toward God and flee from what won’t.

 

Ah the choice. I wrote about it on Day Six of this 30 day challenge. Free will, always allows us to choose. Choices. Some days I wish I didn’t have so many of them. Other days I wish I had none. I am not a very speedy decision maker…and it can be annoying/frustrating for those who just want to know where I would like to go out to dinner. Or which pair of pants I would like to buy. *Shrugs shoulders. It’s in my DNA make-up…feel free to take it up with the Big Guy. Lol!*

Why give us a choice at all? Why didn’t God just create us all to be a part of a world-wide puppet show? Where is the passion in that? Why would we desire to go deeper? Why would talk to Him? It wouldn’t make a difference.

God wants us to have choice. He wants us to use that brain He intricately designed to CHOOSE Him. Puppets are not capable of love. He wants us to learn to love Him through every laugh and every tear. To learn to trust Him in and with every choice. To desire a relationship with Him. To talk to Him as often as we think of Him. To dig into His Word and discover truth like never before. To never be okay with how much we know His character and His truth. To never walk by an opportunity to serve and uplift anyone. To want to share His faithfulness to anyone who needs Him.

We choose Christ, we win and gain purpose.

What if we don’t choose on purpose? What if we just allow life to choose us? The world will surely draw us in. By not choosing…you will absolutely be choosing.

Today, stop looking at the path of those around you. Stop comparing. You were designed on purpose, for a purpose. You are uniquely you 2013 Spring 885  because there are people that need you. There are ministries awaiting you. There are lost souls that need you to pay attention to your own path because they are on it. At some point your paths will cross. How will you see them if you aren’t looking ahead. When you run into them…will you be annoyed that they were there? Will you get angry that they are just another obstacle that you to stumbled over? Or will you rather see them as an object of your goal on your path?

Don’t jump paths. 2013 Spring 670  The grass is never as green as it seems from your distorted view. You can only see clearly when you focus ahead. When you pay attention to strengthening your own weaknesses and not pointing out your neighbors. God has more for you than you are allowing in. Set your eyes on Him and get stubborn. Put you game face on. Let the enemy see it. Let him know you are done playing his game. Put your sneakers on 2013 Spring 555 and walk your path. No matter how hard it looks, walk looking ahead. Dig your feet into the soil and stand firm when the winds of doubt try to blow you over. You are heading the right way. Your path will overflow with purpose if you look for it. It will lead you to true contentment. It will abound with joy. Because you are choosing the way of Christ over the way of *Insert your name here*. And when you gain confidence…run toward your goal…and flee from the scheme of the enemy. We don’t have time to waste. This journey just got serious!

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for showing the purpose of pain! "He wants us to learn to love Him through every laugh and every tear." May this become such a reality! Thank God that He is always working toward His glory and our good. He is so wise, He sees so much we don't see. May He do all He has in mind and lead us in the purposes He has set for us!

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