A Reoccurring Theme

Tonight I had the privilege of spending some time chatting with someone to whom, up to this point, has just been an acquaintance.  Fortunately, we had a chance to connect tonight and have a much deeper conversation about life and just some of the things that we have both experienced in the past and really created a connection that felt both natural and refreshing.  More on that in a second.

About twelve years ago, I worked with a man that introduced me to the whole idea of life as a journey.  He explained to me about how life is a path that we were on and people would come and go on that path because their path would align with ours for an unknown amount of time and then the paths sometimes separate and go different directions.  Other times, the paths continue along the same journey together.  He told me that either way, we need to understand that the paths of others are intended as part of our journey through life to help us grow and develop personally and to allow us the privilege of impacting someone else's journey.  It is the way that God has designed us to be connected together.  I've never forgotten that lesson and have held it close to my heart ever since.

In my daily devotions, I have been working through the book of Proverbs and I have really had some thought provoking verses jump off the page at me, but the one from yesterday's devotion was Proverbs 16:9.

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

 We can have all the wonderful plans in the world of where we want to go and what we want to do, but ultimately, it is God who determines what happens along the journey of our lives.  His divine plan of who is going to enter or exit our journey as we continue to move forward in this life is intentional and He has purpose for everything that happens in our lives.  THAT'S CRAZY!!!  He knows ahead of time when someone will come into your life and totally change the direction you thought you were going to go or change your perception of what is important or not important.

The truth is, we should be asking Him each and every day how He wants to use us today to further His purpose in our lives.  We should be looking to Him for guidance about where He wants us to go; who He wants us to talk to and what He wants us to say.  You never just know how God will use you to change someone else's life without you even knowing it.  You never know what someone else might be going through and how your interaction with them might be the difference between them thinking they can't go any farther in their journey and them realizing that they can make it through this difficult leg of the journey.  You never know how you might be the person that causes someone to rediscover their purpose in this life.  You also never know how someone else might be used to help you see things just a little bit differently.  You never know how God might use someone else to give you a hope when hope seems so far away.

So back to my conversation tonight.  I'm not so sure who that conversation was supposed to help, but for some reason I believe that both of us had a moment where we knew that God has something bigger in store for the both of us and that he used our paths crossing to remind us that He still cares for both us.  I look forward to seeing how this journey continues on but I'm definitely more aware tonight of this reoccurring theme of "journey".

Life Isn't Fair

My little boy has learned a new phrase, "It isn't fair!"  When things don't go the way that he thinks they should go, he likes to throw these words out as a blanket statement that somehow is going to sway my decision about what he wants.

I can think of many times in my life that I thought the very same way as my Little Man and somehow felt that o should get my way. Even in my adult years, I sometimes struggle to see how some people continue to get ahead my means of corruption and deceit and yet I struggle to make it through or get overlooked because I won't conform to a way that would question my integrity. It doesn't seem fair.

Today our pastor preached on the very subject of this blog. It was quite a compelling message founded in the book of Habakkuk. He went on to explore how in chapter one Habakkuk went indignantly to God with his disgruntlement over the nation of Israel's current state and put God in his place. However, in chapter two, it was God who put Habakkuk in his place for crossing the line with a Sovereign God. It made me think back to my son.

How many times have I had to correct my son for speaking to me with a tone that wasn't fitting or for demanding something above his entitlement?  There is a line (a gracious one) that my three year old is slowly discovering as he matures and I am helping him discover that my decisions are in the matter of his best interests. I want nothing but the best for him although he might see it as unfair at the time.

God wanted nothing but the best for Habakkuk and the nation of Israel although Habakkuk failed to understand it at the time. Once God showed Habakkuk His ultimate plan, Habakkuk recognized that he had crossed that line and needed to trust God and His sovereign ways.

For you and me, the truth is we need not look into our current situation and exclaim to God that, "Life isn't fair!"  We simply need to trust God and know that His ways are sovereign and that He has our best interests at heart. It may not go the way we think it should. He may use on orthodox ways of bringing our attention to Him, but His ways will always be best.

I guess the question I have to leave us all with is, are we so focused on what we think we want and deserve that we forget to be thankful for what we have already been provided with by God? Maybe one more: Are we so caught up with fairness that we forget to acknowledge His faithfulness?

Maybe we need to spend more time like Habakkuk in chapter three. Check it out!

He Knows

Right now, a very close friend of ours needs a touch from God for a blood clot between his lung and his heart. The next 12 to 24 hours are crucial critical as mentioned by the medical staff. 

At work, we have a very large project with a very tight deadline. The task seems insurmountable but the project needs to be completely quickly as it is critical to our business' success. 

In my devotions, I was reading the story of Jonah and how God had a tight deadline for Jonah and it involved Jonah for the redemption of the great city of Nineveh. God needed Jonah to go whether he wanted to or not. 

In the above three instances, there is a crucial need and a necessity for action. Often in life, we find ourselves in tight spots wondering what's next but ultimately it is not about what we know or don't, but rather Who knows. Our response is simply to trust that God is sovereign and that He will bring us through whatever tough situation we face. 

So for my friend, I ask that God intervene guide this situation. With work, I ask God that He would give wisdom in making the right decisions and the strength to make it through the next month. Most of all, I thank God that He uses people like Jonah (you and me) that don't necessarily listen the first time to accomplish His Will because after all, He knows!