All the commandment which I command you this day you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments, or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know; that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but that man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out upon you, and your foot did not swell, these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, by walking in his ways and by fearing him.
If you have wondered where I have been throughout the last 9 months -- no!I've not been pregnant! LOL! I have been experiencing much of what is described in these verses.
God has been refining me, humbling me, testing me and yes, sustaining me. Sometimes Iforget that faith is not a destination! It is a journey that never ends. I know that's a bit trite, but oh so true. God wants us to "walk in his ways" throughout every momentof our lives. He knows we can't find our way on our own, so he leads us where he needs us to go so we can learn what he needs us to learn.
He doesn't leave us alone, though! He provides for us the "manna" that we need to be sustained and more. Like the Israelites who were stiff-necked and stubborn, I try to rebel against God sometimes too. I have not been intentional or consistent in my seeking Him out. I allow all the very important things of this world to interfere with the very important things God has planned for me to do.
I've been praying about whether or not to maintain this blog. I have three others and a 2x a month column and I'm about to begin a publicity campaign for my book. This morning it became clear to me that this is what I need to do first--above all else. I probably won’t be posting a devotion every morning, but I will be doing so with some regularity.
I need to stay grounded in God’s Word. I must remember that He is the source and creator of all I am and all I am able to do. To truly honor Him, I must obey, trust and believe that He will lead me to His plan for my life while I’m waiting for heaven.
Today I pray you seek God’s wisdom and guidance before all else.
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
I was pretty sure I had recently included verse 8 in one of my devotions. In fact, “Here am I” was the title of one of them. I have shared since I’ve resumed my morning posts that I have been waiting and wondering what God has in store for me. I’m rather pleased with myself that I haven’t immediately filled up my calendar with activities to fill the time. I have tried to be intentional, pray and wait for God to reveal and affirm His desire for me and for my life.
That is very out of character for me! I have been impatient and even impetuous in the past. I’ve been investigating various organizations and considering numerous opportunities to serve, but I am waiting . . . and praying . . . and giving the decisions to God. In the past I have incorrectly interpreted verse 8 to mean that I had to be the one who did it all! Save the world single-handedly! I believed I could because I was on the side of God.
What so often happens though when we fill our lives and spend our time on so many activities is that we don’t do a “check-in” to be sure we’re in line with God’s desire and plan. When I pause to allow God to affirm me and what I’m doing, I allow Him to be in charge. Over the past year or so I have stepped back from leadership positions in church and in my community. I felt I needed a break to rest in God and to evaluate where I was in my faith and in my faith journey. It has been very instructive. The earth has actually continued to spin on it’s axis without my micromanagement!
I received a call a couple of weeks ago from a woman who asked me to participate in an activity that I had been interested in for a long time. Since my calendar wasn’t full of “very important” activities, I was able to join a group of people on Saturday to protest gun sales without background checks. Now don’t stop reading! It’s not about gun ownership—it’s about sensible gun laws. Anyway, that’s not the point! The point is I was available. Then on Sunday I composed a poem about gun violence—it came unbidden throughout the day. It came from that creative, compassionate center of my soul that I do not control, but rather obey.
That’s how I know I’m in line with God’s will for me – He takes over and uses my gifts and my abilities to advance His Word, to do His bidding, to add my voice to the noise, to the grinding din that can overpower the still small voice within. Yes, God wants us to step up and be the one who goes for Him. First, though, He wants us to know what we are to do, and how, and when and where!
My prayer today is that you find a quiet place to spend time listening for the voice of the Lord. And that you declare, “Here am I,” when you discover what you are to do, and where, and how, and when.
God’s Good, Pleasing and Perfect Will
. Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will.
1 Corinthians 2:12
We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
One of the first prayers many young children learn is the Lord’s Prayer. “Our Father Who Art in Heaven, Hallowed Be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done. On Earth as it is in Heaven.” The Bible tells us this is the prayer Jesus taught the disciples when they asked him how they should pray. This model follows the instructions of these two verses. I guess I should say, once this prayer was introduced, the disciples preached based upon the prayer.
Thy Kingdom Come: God’s Kingdom – Heaven – Not this world. Thy Will Be Done: God’s will – not man’s, not what we think or want – what God wants for us. That’s how we are to live: in accordance with God’s will for us. In order to live in accordance with God’s will, though we need to know what it is! That can be tricky, because so often in our lives we are required to take the lead, to be in charge, to make a snap decision. Life is so fast-paced in our world today that we could be run over and left behind if we’re not on top of our game.
But God has a better way. He has amazing, unimaginable plans for abundance and blessings in store for us. He desperately wants to pour them out into our lives. We risk missing out on God’s will for our lives when we charge ahead, thinking with our heads rather than our hearts and our souls. If we never allow time for God to reveal his plans for us, we will trample right over them. God wants to renew our minds to His way of thinking and living. He’s not going to force it though; he waits for us to be open to His will.
That’s a lot of responsibility. That places the burden on us. Perhaps that’s why so often we just don’t “go there.” We feel so burdened and weighed down by the cares of this world that we just can’t or won’t take responsibility for one more thing. No matter how wonderful the end result could be, we just don’t have the energy to do one more thing in our lives.
What I repeatedly re-discover is that if I just stop for a few minutes and clear my mind of all the cares of this world I can begin to see the vision God has of me in my mind’s eye. When I go for a walk, or sit quietly reflecting on God’s word or reading scripture, my mind begins to be renewed. God reveals himself to us when we are fully open to Him and fully engaged in discovering His will.
When we set ourselves apart we have taken the first step in the transformation process. Getting in that habit will increase the likelihood that our decisions will be based on God’s will for our lives, not man’s.
My prayer today is that you have the opportunity to renew your mind so you can test and approve God’s good, pleasing and perfect will for your life. And that you make it a habit to spend time with God each day.
