Shots In The Dark
I spoke yesterday with my sister, Jenny, who's friendship I cherish more and more every day. I find that we are in much of the same places in life. Discovering answers and inspiration together brings the Lord's healing in such an amazing way and, I confess, makes me feel less alone.
My friend and I talked about some of our greatest challenges of late. "Why don't I feel like I can be real and honest," and "where is my ministry"? It's funny how God answers our questions, even when we may not have asked Him directly. And I'm so glad He does.
In my quiet time today came His responses to our queries and frustrations. I'll write a little bit (okay, a lot) from my readings. "Do you ever feel outnumbered? In the midst of feeling outnumbered, do you ever wonder whether your unpopular, minority belief system could be right?... Noah was the only man in his entire generation who held his exact conviction... yet he was right. Majority opinion holds utterly no security. Noah was right because God was right. Noah - simple flesh and blood - had the faith to agree with God.... We may as well be prepared in advance for others - sometimes other Christians - to ridicule us or think we are uneducated and unsophisticated to believe that God's Word applies to us today. Sometimes we may even be tempted to wonder whether we're wrong. Beloved, God is right. You can rest assured that He will prove it once again - sooner or later. Peer pressure is a powerful faith deterrent. Don't let it cheat you of your promised land."
And then there was this part: "Of one thing I'm certain. Very few of us took our first leaps of faith without hearing God say with our spiritual ears, 'Get thee out of thy comfort zone.' Let's put it this way: if we were already where we are going, for all practical earthly purposes we'd be dead. We can rest assured what God has for us even in our earthly future is not identical to our present. Whether or not we like it, a fair amount of going is involved in following.... Time can test almost anything and undoubtedly anyone. We sometimes obey God and go where we believe He is sending us. We're not altogether certain what we expected, but after a while we ascertain, 'This certainly can't be it.' In fact, obeying God can initially seem to get us into a bigger mess than we left. Sometimes, that's part of the test. Have you ever thought, 'I may as well be an alien here'? Admittedly tongue in cheek, that may be your first indication you're in the right place. We can be in the bull's-eye of God's will for our lives, and things make utterly no sense until that ugly, five-letter word later.... Time by itself does nothing but grow us old. What we do with the time makes the difference. We often say, 'Time heals'; yet I've known just as many whom time embittered. Only God heals. Only God restores. Only God effectively prepares, teaches, equips, and matures, but you can count on Him to often use the test tube of time in which to accomplish it.... Time is often where He tempers and tests us so that premature births of ministries don't result in lifelong handicaps.... The world will not stop and our true God-ordained ministries will not end when we take the time to let God make us healthier and better equipped. No wonder He goes to such lengths and depths to prepare us as much as we'll permit Him. When the height of a ministry outgrows its depth, it will inevitably come tumbling down. Praise His merciful name, we can rebuild, but we are wise when we focus on the depth alone and from that time forward leave the length, breadth, and height to Him. As long as the latter dimensions matter most to us, we are not ready to build what lasts." from Believing God by Beth Moore.
Maybe I'm crazy, but those words, coupled with my study time, made such an impact on me. I am not alone in feeling alone and uncomfortable. Those feelings will only strengthen my faith and beliefs if I am seeking and believing God's word. I'm right to believe that God wants me to focus on Him more than a ministry or obligation. I know I'm dense so it's nice to know that even God would take the time to answer some questions shot into the dark. I hope these words can help you, too.
My friend and I talked about some of our greatest challenges of late. "Why don't I feel like I can be real and honest," and "where is my ministry"? It's funny how God answers our questions, even when we may not have asked Him directly. And I'm so glad He does.
In my quiet time today came His responses to our queries and frustrations. I'll write a little bit (okay, a lot) from my readings. "Do you ever feel outnumbered? In the midst of feeling outnumbered, do you ever wonder whether your unpopular, minority belief system could be right?... Noah was the only man in his entire generation who held his exact conviction... yet he was right. Majority opinion holds utterly no security. Noah was right because God was right. Noah - simple flesh and blood - had the faith to agree with God.... We may as well be prepared in advance for others - sometimes other Christians - to ridicule us or think we are uneducated and unsophisticated to believe that God's Word applies to us today. Sometimes we may even be tempted to wonder whether we're wrong. Beloved, God is right. You can rest assured that He will prove it once again - sooner or later. Peer pressure is a powerful faith deterrent. Don't let it cheat you of your promised land."
And then there was this part: "Of one thing I'm certain. Very few of us took our first leaps of faith without hearing God say with our spiritual ears, 'Get thee out of thy comfort zone.' Let's put it this way: if we were already where we are going, for all practical earthly purposes we'd be dead. We can rest assured what God has for us even in our earthly future is not identical to our present. Whether or not we like it, a fair amount of going is involved in following.... Time can test almost anything and undoubtedly anyone. We sometimes obey God and go where we believe He is sending us. We're not altogether certain what we expected, but after a while we ascertain, 'This certainly can't be it.' In fact, obeying God can initially seem to get us into a bigger mess than we left. Sometimes, that's part of the test. Have you ever thought, 'I may as well be an alien here'? Admittedly tongue in cheek, that may be your first indication you're in the right place. We can be in the bull's-eye of God's will for our lives, and things make utterly no sense until that ugly, five-letter word later.... Time by itself does nothing but grow us old. What we do with the time makes the difference. We often say, 'Time heals'; yet I've known just as many whom time embittered. Only God heals. Only God restores. Only God effectively prepares, teaches, equips, and matures, but you can count on Him to often use the test tube of time in which to accomplish it.... Time is often where He tempers and tests us so that premature births of ministries don't result in lifelong handicaps.... The world will not stop and our true God-ordained ministries will not end when we take the time to let God make us healthier and better equipped. No wonder He goes to such lengths and depths to prepare us as much as we'll permit Him. When the height of a ministry outgrows its depth, it will inevitably come tumbling down. Praise His merciful name, we can rebuild, but we are wise when we focus on the depth alone and from that time forward leave the length, breadth, and height to Him. As long as the latter dimensions matter most to us, we are not ready to build what lasts." from Believing God by Beth Moore.
Maybe I'm crazy, but those words, coupled with my study time, made such an impact on me. I am not alone in feeling alone and uncomfortable. Those feelings will only strengthen my faith and beliefs if I am seeking and believing God's word. I'm right to believe that God wants me to focus on Him more than a ministry or obligation. I know I'm dense so it's nice to know that even God would take the time to answer some questions shot into the dark. I hope these words can help you, too.
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