Wednesday, August 3, 2016

When God Says "Go" And You Say "Oh, No"

My Utmost For His Highest
 
He…said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem…" —Luke 18:31
 
“Jerusalem, in the life of our Lord, represents the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will. Jesus said, “I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 5:30). Seeking to do “the will of the Father” was the one dominating concern throughout our Lord’s life. And whatever He encountered along the way, whether joy or sorrow, success or failure, He was never deterred from that purpose. […] We are not taken into a conscious agreement with God’s purpose— we are taken into God’s purpose with no awareness of it at all. We have no idea what God’s goal may be; as we continue, His purpose becomes even more and more vague. God’s aim appears to have missed the mark, because we are too nearsighted to see the target at which He is aiming. At the beginning of the Christian life, we have our own ideas as to what God’s purpose is. We say, “God means for me to go over there,” and, “God has called me to do this special work. […]The work we do is of no account when compared with the compelling purpose of God. It is simply the scaffolding surrounding His work and His plan.”  CHAMBERS
 
Where is God leading you or where has He led you?  We can except that He would lead us to do some great thing to accomplish His purpose, and He might well. But can we accept that He would lead us to some mundane place?  One of my challenges since returning from Haiti is being content in the place where God has led us.  Oh, we are still involved in ministry in Haiti.  I continue to write these devotions .. I will soon be teaching Sunday School.  But being in Mississippi or Haiti was such a  grand and glorious calling.  It was as if this square peg (me) was finally put into a square hole.  Perfect fit. And then the Lord brings us back into what I consider to be a spiritual valley.  The thing is, this valley is no less important to God than the mountain.  My problem is that I am considering a spiritual condition with a natural understanding.  It is self-serving.  It is what I want and not what God has purposed that I have focused on.
 
Assuming that you are not living in disobedience, meaning that God  has said, “Go” and you have said “No”, God will use you for His glory right where you are.  I am not at peace with where I am today, nor should I be.  Just like Haiti, there are hardships, but here in the U.S., they have taken a different form.  God does not want me to be content but to be light in the darkness.  God wants you to shine right where you are.  Maybe you have become content … perhaps you are starting to blend in (Romans 12:2) … your light is not quite so bright … you have begun to lose your saltiness.  (Matthew 5:13)  Like me, perhaps you need to be reminded that no matter where God has you, this world is not your home.  Your purpose and mission is not dependent upon geography or economics but on the sovereignty of God.  Fulfilling your purpose begins with a proper understanding of your new life, God’s authority in your life, and what it means to live by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)  CHARLEY

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