Interrupted

"We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.....We must not.....assume that our schedule is our own to manage, but allow it to be arranged by God.”~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

You know me... I am a list maker. I've got a plan, and I like to see things marked off.  

But it doesn't always work that way - does it?  

Sometimes there are interruptions.  Disruptions.  Changes in plans.

 I have two choices...

I can get frustrated, angry, or discouraged. 

Or I can go along with it. 

Look at it as a lesson on how life isn't lived according to my plan, but according to God's plan.   

A new opportunity to say "Yes" to God and see what exciting opportunity He has for me rather than what I had planned.

Enough!

I'm a quitter.

I've quit a large percentage of things I have started during my lifetime so far.  From dance classes to hobbies to college - I've quit.

And then there's the even longer list of things I never even started.

Why? Why quit?

I start off strong. Full of hope and determination.

Then the doubt creeps in.  The worry.  The need for approval and it's twin the fear of rejection. That little voice in the back of my head telling my I'm not good/smart/talented/pretty/educated/qualified/brave enough.  Whispering that I don't have enough time.  Or energy.  Maybe even making me believe I'm not needed or wanted.

(Perhaps you recognize yourself in me?)

The time has come to stop listening to the doubt and fear.  Start listening to the Truth.

The Truth reminds me that God made me enough! I am:

• Good enough         
• Smart enough         
• Talented enough     
• Strong enough        
• Courageous enough

To complete anything He wants me to do! 

I just have to say "Yes God - whatever you want" and stick with it. 

I think I just came pretty close to havng me a 'Stuart Smalley' moment there.  Anyone else remember him from old Saturday Night Live skits?

Living It

God has been showing me a lot about trusting Him lately.  Telling me to keep my eyes, and my heart, on Him and walk the path He sets before me.  To read and hear His word and act upon it.

That's really the tricky part, isn't it?  Acting on it.

Living it out in complete faith.

To walk in faith and love every step.  To fill your life with praise and worship even when the going gets tough. 

It's easy to read the Bible and various daily devotionals and feel inspired for those few minutes and maybe a short while after. But God isn't after a few minutes.  He's after every minute.  Every hour.  Every day of my life.

How do I let it become part of my very being?  How do I live so that every word I say and every deed I act reflects His love, faithfulness and grace back to the world?  To completely let go and trust in the Lord and His plan for me?

The Song In My Heart

Participating in the Proverbs 31 Ministries Online Bible Study "What Happens When Women Say Yes to God" has had this song running through my head all week.

Unconditional Love

I am constantly amazed by how God loves!!   He loves us all unconditionally.  The saved. The sinners.  Christians, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, atheist.  Old, young.  Rich or poor.  Every last one of us.  He loves us.

That doesn't mean He approves of everything we do.  Or that He turns a blind eye to it.  He doesn't dismiss our transgressions.  He despises the sin in our lives.  But He still loves us no matter what - even with all of our shortcomings.

His heart aches for those who don't know Him.  Don't trust Him.  Don't believe in Him.  Even as they reject Him - He loves them.

He loves us.  And all He wants is our love and acceptance in return.  For us to come to Him, to say "Yes" and step into the warmth of His perfect, unconditional, eternal Love for us. 

Delayed

It drives me crazy.  

I tell the offspring to do something.  (maybe it's to empty the dishwasher, maybe take out the trash - the what isn't important)  The offspring doesn't move.

I make my request again.  And a response along the lines of "OK, in a minute" comes back at me. 

I tell him (or her) AGAIN. With slightly less patience this time. This time I hear "I will" or "I'm going to".

By this point in the exchange, I am fuming.  If I asked to have it done, I want it done when I ask.  Quit stalling and just DO IT already!

It was during one of these times when God asked me: "How often do you do the same thing to me?"

Oh...

So many times I have felt tug at my heart with something (maybe it was to call that friend or relative, or to write a note or send a card to someone - the what isn't important) and I have turned the other way.  I put it off, thinking to myself "Sure, I'll get to that later". 

Does it hurt and frustrate God when I delay doing something he has asked of me in the same way it does me with my own children? I'm sure it probably does. 

"If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them." ~ James 4:17


Delayed obedience is the same as disobedience. 

Stop putting it off.  Just DO IT already!