I hope you are enjoying following along with this new series. If you are just joining us for the first time, I encourage you to scroll back and read the last few blogs and catch up.
My life verse is Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” This passage encompasses the whole Christian life (walking in the light). I want to break it down a bit for you today. When we look at the end of the verse, it talks about “straight” paths. A “straight” path (our life) here means the best way to a destination. This straight path of life that God leads you on can have long stretches of flat walks, sharp curves, hills, valleys, detours, and mountains to climb, but as you acknowledge Him, meaning deferring to His GPS for your life, you will fulfill your created life of significance.
The part that says, “lean not on your own understanding” means exactly what it says. Often God will direct you to do things that won’t make sense to you or others around you. It might go against your fleshly desires or emotions, meaning you may have to:
step when you feel fear,
slow down when you want to speed up,
be silent when you want to speak,
speak up even if it evokes rage,
give when you have little,
or
wait at an impasse for LONG periods of time.
This is where the first part of the verse applies to us, “Trust the Lord with all your heart.” When we invite Jesus into our lives, we have to seek Him, pray and read His Word, getting still every day to build that intimate relationship (all great relationships take time and attention). As we do this, we will learn to recognize His voice clearly and be able to discern His direction.
I hope you are gaining much from your reading of the four gospels. I’m gonna divert from there today and give you a few verses from the Old Testament found in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
I have been trusting Jesus since I was 9 and now I am 56. The one thing I can give personal testimony to is that God’s timing is perfect and rarely has it ever met with my timing. Often HIS direction for me has not made sense but when I have learned to step and act and obey, regardless of my thoughts, it has only been after I have obeyed that I have understood.
Sometimes the understanding after stepping has taken years to come. Sometimes it is pretty soon and there are times I haven’t really understood the step but still had a Godly peace!
Often when I step, it is a faith step, seeing without knowing. And then, and only then, it is apparent that I heard the Shepherd’s voice! I have heard it said, “God won’t give you anything you can’t handle.” I totally DISAGREE. God often leads us to do things and leads us to places where it can be difficult and hard and overwhelming SO THAT WE HAVE TO LEAN ON AND DEPEND ON HIM. Then, and only then, do we realize, IT WAS HE who HELPED US, and it was done not in our strength, but HIS!
This way of life, for me personally, has become exhilarating and has given me what I call Godfidence. It allows me to depend on and trust God more and allows me to be more bold and worry a lot less, because I know, that I know, that I know, GOD IS ON HIS THRONE. HE LIVES IN ME AND IF HE CALLS ME TO DO SOMETHING, HE WILL EQUIP ME! HE will guide me, HE will protect me…
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). I love this Scripture. The more we trust and obey…the more we KNOW THAT GOD IS OUR HELPER….and is the ONLY ONE WE NEED! Of course, let me stop right here and say – God works through people. Often HE has sent others to help me on my path of leading a life of significance. You can trust that He will do the same for you.
I want to share with you a personal example. Just two years ago, we experienced a category 5 life storm. Our oldest son, who was 27 at the time, suffered a massive stroke. For six days we waited while he was on life support, waiting to see if he would survive.
I felt the saddest I have ever felt in my life, but strangely I had a peace and comfort that could have only been from God! All during that storm, God sent others to comfort, to encourage, to support. He spoke to me directly and intently in my spirit. Because I KNEW HIS VOICE in my life, I obeyed at times when it didn’t make human sense.
Brewer had been on a respirator in Neuro-ICU for two days. Every day I had taken my time in the morning to have my quiet time, to journal and to pray before going to the hospital. I had to reject my “mommy sensors” of being there 24/7, especially when I woke up each morning. My first instinct was to rush to the hospital, but every morning I battled the flesh, and humbled myself to my REAL HELPER, and to Brewer’s.
On the third morning, I distinctly remember waking up at 5:30 a.m. and feeling in my spirit the Lord prompting me to go to the hospital. It was odd because that was NOT what He directed the other mornings. I obeyed and arrived at the security point in Neuro-ICU to find no one there to swipe me in at 6:30 a.m. As I stood there wondering and saying to the Lord in my thoughts, “Did I misunderstand?” the sliding glass doors opened.
It startled me and I looked around to see who might have swiped the doors open for me, but there was NO ONE IN sight! A chill went down my spine and a Godfidence washed over me like a super power that allowed me to fly. I walked into the unit where Brewer was resting with tubes crawling all over his body and his arms and head tied securely to the bed! It was a picture I had become accustomed to seeing, but one that broke my heart every time I turned that corner.
On that morning, I did not understand God’s prompting until hours later. I sat there and prayed for Brewer while listening to worship music on my iPod in the quiet of ICU. After an hour, I got up to leave the unit to go to the bathroom and was met by Dr. Halladay who wanted to talk about the fact that “Brewer was not turning the corner that they had hoped!”
When I heard those words, I rejected them. I asked if we could wait until others got to the hospital to have that conversation. He agreed. With eyes burning, heart pounding and ears ringing, I ran to the bathroom and crumbled to the floor on my knees crying and begging God to help. Some time after being on the floor I got up, blew my nose and started circling the 3rd floor of Greenville Memorial asking God to please help Brewer turn the corner. It was just a simple “arrow prayer” to my HELPER!
I can’t tell you how much time passed, but as I continued to circle in prayer…..God moved. The silence of my prayer walk was broken by tuning in to hearing my name called in a desperate voice by Vester who apparently was now on duty. She was the gatekeeper and swiper in of Neuro-ICU. They needed me at Brewer’s side. As thoughts pounded my brain and my heart was once again in my throat, I flew past Vester as she swiped me through the glass doors. I didn’t stop to do the “washing that was required” as I slid around the corner in my sock feet. (I had left my slippers in Brewer’s room to go to the bathroom not realizing that I would see Dr. Halladay and be thrown into a prayer war to God and circling the 3rd floor.)
There to my wet eyes that became even wetter, did I see Brewer fully awake, all wires gone as he lifted his hands and spoke my name, “MOM!” He said, “Pray with me!” It was a continual motion of sliding around the corner, running toward Brewer, hearing those words and sliding to grab his hands while I slid to my knees in prayer.
I will stop here…let me just back up and say…when I awoke that morning, it didn’t make sense to me what God was telling me to do, but I obeyed and went. Little did I know that He had in store for me multiple supernatural moments. HE for sure hand-picked me to be at the hospital and be the first to see Brewer awake. God has used this experience so much in my life since that time…to strengthen my faith, my trust and to create within me a more BOLD SPIRIT! It is a GODFIDENCE that went from 1,000 amps to a million.
I know that I know, that I know…God’s timing is so perfect.
His direction and prompts need to be followed otherwise, WE MISS IT.
WE MISS THOSE MARVELOUS moments that HE has for all of us to experience HIS UNDENIABLE POWER AND SOVEREIGNTY .
“Will God ever ask you to do something you are not able to do? The answer is yes – all the time! It must be that way for God’s glory and kingdom. If we function according to our ability alone, we get the glory; if we function according to the power of the Spirit within us, God gets the glory. He wants to reveal Himself to a watching world.” ~Henry T. Blackaby
“Your call will become clear as your mind is transformed by the reading of Scripture and the internal work of God’s Spirit. The Lord never hides His will from us. In time, as you obey the call first to follow, your destiny will unfold before you. The difficulty will lie in keeping other concerns from diverting your attention.” ~Charles R. Swindoll
Realizing we were created by God for His purposes, and not ours, can be hard to wrap our minds around when we first accept Him into our hearts. As I have matured in my faith and understanding of His Word and applying it, His supernatural hand is visible every day of my life! I feel carried most of the time!
I encourage you today, recognize that there is a God. He sent his Son, Jesus, who was the sacrifice for all who choose to believe in Him. When Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and then ascended into heaven to be at the right hand of God, He didn’t leave us alone. HE sent his Holy Spirit to dwell in us.
Our job is to surrender to the voice of the Holy Spirit in our lives. To live out our created purpose. Personally, I can testify that in order to KNOW that voice it will require us…
….to BE STILL…
…to read Scripture….
and
…to pray…
….then step.
