When God Says, "GO!"

(A re-post)

By Faith, We Can Follow God to Unknown Places...

Hebrews 11:8 (Amplified) "[Urged on] by faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went forth to a place which he was destined to receive as an inheritance; and he went, although he did not know or trouble his mind about where he was to go."



When a child of God trusts in the heart of the Father, there is no need to fret when He directs us toward an unknown destination. There is no need for worry or fear, but it doesn't mean we don't still fret! Part of growing up in Christ and moving on to a place of greater maturity is in experiencing the struggles of learning to trust God with the unknowns. Sometimes we stumble, and fall, while on the journey, but we can by faith, get back up and keep walking.

God is in the process of transforming us into the likeness of Christ. And, as we learn to trust the One we're following, the less concerned we will be about the destination or direction in which we're heading. Our focus remains on our trustworthy Guide.

Oftentimes, God will make us uncomfortable where we are in order to prep us to be ready to move when He says, "it's time, now, go." I've noticed that many times when God is leading me to leave something to move toward something else, I become dissatisfied with where I am, even though I have no real complaints about where I am. There is just this sense that I no longer belong in that place.

When God spoke to Abraham, his faith had developed to the point that he didn't have to stress out or get all the details up front about what was going to happen. God had done such an incredible work in Abraham's life as Abraham chose time after time to trust God more. He was definitely not perfect, and we can read about the times, especially earlier in his life, where he stumbled because his faith had not yet matured; but here we read how mature his faith had become. Mature enough to simply trust and obey.

So, is God leading you today to an 'unknown' place? Is He making you uncomfortable where you are? Listen carefully to His leading and make up your mind that you'll be one who chooses, even without knowing all the details, that you can fully trust in your faithful Father. Enjoy the Adventure!

When I can't see Him...

http://www.gurusoftware.com/images/GuruNet/searching.jpg

Any time I think of the story of Moses found in Exodus 1-2:10 of the Old Testament, (which I highly recommend reading), I remember when my oldest child was just a toddler and she was watching this story on a videotape. The first time she ever saw it, when the story went beyond the part of Moses' parents keeping him hidden for three months, to the point where they placed him into a hand-made little boat in the Nile, I heard her crying from the next room. She and I met on our way to each other, as I was coming to find out what was wrong and she was coming to tell me. I thought she had gotten hurt or something, but it was a bigger deal than that. She was crying so hard it was hard for her to talk, but then she told me, "The baby Moses is crying and no one is picking him up!" She has always had such a tender heart towards hurting people. She was mortified that there was no one caring for that little baby boy on the TV screen. She saw how we cared for her newborn sister and how much love we poured on her, so it was torture for her to have to sit helplessly while that baby was crying. Each time she watched it, she cried during that scene. It almost got to the point where I wasn't sure I should let her watch it anymore. It was so sad, but precious at the same time. Although she knew he would be okay, eventually, she was still sad each and every time she had to watch the Baby Moses go through that ordeal of being placed into a basket in the river.*

What I needed to remember today, God showed me through the memory of this event so long ago. After watching the video the first time, and seeing how things turned out, Amelia knew that Moses was going to be picked up and cared for. But it still broke her heart each time she had to watch him crying out. Watching that baby's sadness and fear impacted her emotionally each and every time she watched that video. It used to confuse me because she knew everything was going to be okay. I couldn't understand why she would cry every. single. time!

As Stephen and I go through what seems to be an unending season of trials and testing, it's easy to wonder and even cry out to God, "Do you see me? Do you care about what I'm going through? Will I be taken care of?" And, as I remember this story, God reminds me that He does see me. And just like Amelia who knew the outcome yet still felt the heartache in watching another's pain, He does care. He is with me always. He will never, ever, ever leave me. He will never abandon me. He will never forsake me. And, although He knows exactly when relief and deliverance will come, and already has a plan for that purpose in His mind and in the works, it doesn't mean that He flippantly watches me go through this painful season. He sees and He cares. His heart is touched by the very things He is allowing me to experience.

He is reminding me that pruning, although painful, is always purposeful! As Henri Nouwen stated, "Pruning is no mere punishment, but preparation...our submitting to God's pruning work will not ultimately leave us sad, but hopeful for what can happen in us and through us. Harvesttime will bring its own blessings."**

And I'm reminded of those beautiful and powerful words of Joni Eareckson Tada,

 "Sometimes God allows the very thing He hates in order to bring about the very thing He loves." 

And, so, once again, afresh and anew, I surrender myself to my very good Father and I place myself in His care and His keeping. I don't know what the future holds. I don't know what else He's going to allow to touch me or my family, but I do know this. He is good and He does good. Always. I know that He is trustworthy.

"God is too wise to be mistaken. God is too good to be unkind. So when you don't understand, When you can't see His plan, When you can't trace His hand ~ trust His heart."

From Newsong's"Trust His Heart" quoting Charles Hadden Spurgeon

When I can't see Him, it never means He can't or doesn't see me. I am always on His mind.

And so are you.

If I can pray for you in any way today or whenever you happen upon this post, please don't hesitate to comment and let me know. Has God shown you "treasures in darkness?" I'd love to hear those from you as well!

**"Turn my Mourning into Dancing" Henri Nouwen compiled and edited by Timothy Jones, W Publishing Group, 2001*(This section is from a previous post, part of the "By Faith" series I did a few months back, which you can read here.)

"Plan B" by Pete Wilson

I recently became acquainted with Pete Wilson via Twitter and some mutual friends. Pete is the lead pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN. Soon after I became familiar with Pete and his wife, Brandi, along with some other great people involved in that ministry, I heard about Pete's first book, "Plan B" and was really interested in finding out more about this leader and what he believes and teaches.

As a Bible teacher myself, I find myself very protective of people. Maybe it's a mixture of being both a leader and a mom. ;-) I am careful who I personally endorse because I know there is so much teaching out there-- including a lot of teaching that claims to be biblical, but isn't. I've even been encouraged by some to adopt a certain "image" and teach others how to have-it-all. There's a belief out there, even among Christians, that in order to make impact, you must be have it all together, or at least "fake it until you make it." Problem is, I don't have it all, much less "all together," and despite what the advertiser's tell us, image isn't everything. If you have to fake it, you're not going to make it! The biggest problem with this kind of teaching is that it is fundamentally unbiblical.

So, when I found out about this new book, written by a leader of a large and growing community of faith, I wanted to get a copy to see for myself what he had to say about "What to do when God doesn't show up the way you thought He would." I've been through many, many of what Pete calls "Plan Bs"--times when God didn't show up the way I thought He would. Times when I tried to do everything I knew I was supposed to do, and the bad news came anyway. Most of those who read this blog know that I've been divorced, that I've experienced multiple losses in pregnancy, and that since God called me to ministry in 2004, my family and I have had one "Plan B" reality after another.

I was so grateful as I read through Pete's book that he never gives any kind of pat answer to any of the questions we all have struggled with. Pete, as a leader, gives permission to us to be honest, authentic, and real about what we're going through, and he doesn't pretend to have been given some higher enlightenment to share with us about how to get out of the struggle quickly --or to avoid future "Plan Bs." What he does do, he does well. He reminds us of God's good nature. He reminds us we can trust God even when we don't understand. He reminds us that we aren't alone--that not only does God never leave us, but that God has placed others around us who can say, "me, too."

Many times I tend to believe that no one struggles in quite the same way that I do. Perhaps this is one of the main things that encouraged me as I read this book because I am in a "Plan B" myself right now. God hasn't shown up in my life and in a certain situation in the way I thought He would. And while people tend to see me from a distance and might even be tempted to think I've got it all together--the truth is, I don't. And as I struggle with the temptation to throw in the towel and give up, I am so thankful for the reminders that this book offers.

I read another review of this book which said, "If Your Best Life Now, hasn't arrived. Or if it did but its stay was way too short, consider reading Plan B--not for Pete's sake, but for yours." I couldn't agree more!

I've included a few links to help you familiarize yourself with Pete, Cross Point Church, and Plan B, which I hope you'll find helpful. In addition, please watch Atlanta Live on WATV 57 on June 30 from 7-9 p.m. EDT or July 1 from 7-9 a.m. EDT to see my upcoming interview with Pete Wilson, author of Plan B. If you are not in the Atlanta area, please log on to watch live via online streaming at www.watc.tv

(And, just so you know, I wasn't asked to do this book review. I just believe in passing along info I find helpful and I hope it has been helpful to you.)

By Faith We Believe in One Who Creates Something Out of Nothing

I'm going to spend some time over the next couple of weeks writing here about Living by Faith and what that can mean in a practical sense for us right now right where we are. We'll be looking at Hebrews 11, AKA "The Hall of Faith." In Hebrews 11, the writer lists the names and actions of many people who lived by faith, and whose faith was proven genuine as it was tested. You might want to begin today by reading Hebrews 11. If you don't have a Bible in front of you, click here and you'll be able to read it online. (I've chosen the NKJV, but you can choose the translation you prefer.)

Hebrews 11:1-3 will be our passage for today's post:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

According to Scripture, faith itself is the evidence of the unseen things we claim to believe. Our faith, or our trust in God, is the substance of that which we hope for in Christ. This is not something we can manufacture on our own or through our own striving. It's a natural byproduct of our growing relationship with our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. This trust in God is what gave the elders (those mentioned in the Hall of Faith) their good testimony--trusting God is what equips us to live life well.

In Verse 3 we read that it is by faith, i.e. trusting God, that we believe in something we can't see: that the worlds were framed by the very word of God--His voice made sounds which called an entire universe into existence. It's amazing! As I read and hear more and more about evolution and the Big Bang and all of those theories trying so desperately to disprove a Divine Designer of all that we see in nature and humanity, well, they just haven't convinced me. You don't get intelligence from non-intelligence. You don't get life from something that is not alive. With all of their intelligence and technology, even Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, or even all of humanity combined, haven't even come close to the creativity of our God.

This verse also teaches us that we have a God who can and does make something out of nothing. When I was in high school, I had a friend who was (and still is) an atheist. He and I had respect for one another, though, and were able to have friendly dialogues with each another about our beliefs. In one conversation, he brought an article about how scientists were on the verge of cloning a sheep. He said "See, human beings can now create a sheep through cloning another sheep from DNA." (This was back in 1990.) I remember, politely saying to him, "Well, whenever anyone is able to create something out of nothing, by simply using their words, let's talk." I didn't mean this to be argumentative, but only to say what I'm saying here: Our God creates SOMETHINGS out of absolute NOTHINGNESS. And, it's by faith that we can believe this and base our lives and our eternal destinies upon the fact that God is who He says He is and does what He says He will do.

One last thing about this, and one that means so very much to me. God can create something out of what I see as a "nothing" (hopeless) situation: could be a marriage, a relationship, a ministry, a dream, a lost friend...whatever! If you are dealing with a situation that feels hopeless, have FAITH! If you're in a marriage and it seems all love is gone (i.e. nothing is left between you), have FAITH! Just as God placed something (His Spirit) where there was nothing (our lost state without Christ), God can speak life into any hopeless situation.

There is nothing that is too hard for God. And, as I mentioned in a recent post, God ALWAYS does the most loving thing. He isn't in a panic over your situation. He isn't caught by surprise. He is never caught off-guard. We can completely trust Him in each and every single situation.

~So, where are you in your faith walk? God accepts you and loves you at every point in the growing process. Offer Him what you have and who you are. As I pray oftentimes, "God, I believe. Help my unbelief!"...and He always does...in His perfect way and in His perfect time.