Embracing the Struggle, and Leaning on God in Silence

So, what DO we do when things don't turn out as we thought they would? We took the step of faith and everything didn't fall right into place... What happened? Did I miss something? Did I miss God?

Somewhere along the way I think I was duped into thinking following God meant everything was going to go just as I anticipated "by faith" it should go. That somehow following God or doing His will was somehow hitting the heavenly "Easy" button and everything should go smoothly, especially when I take that step of faith. "If God is in it everything will fall into place," I believed.

While there is truth in that - God does take care of His people - there is no guarantee of not having difficulty along the journey, at least that has been my experience. Honestly by now, I feel I need to be real with myself and my experiences and instead of looking for the easy road, anticipate the difficulty, the struggle, the journey. Maybe that seems like a lack of faith to some, but my faith isn't as big and bold as I used to think.

But there is something to the struggle... it is in the struggle that we find new strength. Hopefully it's His strength. It's in the struggle that we cling to Him, and we gain confidence as we see Him provide and lead and comfort us time and time again.

I also believe I am seeing another truth play out in my life in regards to going through difficulty - It seems we gain confidence in Him through our silence.

In the past I have tried to move God's hand and favor through heartfelt prayers and hyped up faith. Over the last few years I feel a deeper strength that seems to come through silence, peace, and the Sacraments. I believe that peace and rest in difficulty has also come through a greater experience of His real, personal love for me.

So, what do we do when difficulty arises after we have made a move of faith or tried to make a change for good?

Actually I was hoping someone else had the answer. :)

I'm not sure what else to do but embrace it, knowing God uses difficulty to mold us and shape us into His Image. Difficulty is part of life. He never said we wouldn't experience it, but He did say He would walk with us through it.

An Anglican priest and friend of mine recorded these words as part of a song once, "It is in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and rest shall be our strength."

So, I will (try) to quietly receive the difficulty, and trust His wisdom and peace will come through silence.

Dream

I'm a dreamer. Can't help it. It's God's fault. He did it to me. And as such, articles like the below stir up my heart to dream.

Check it out. It's short. Pointed. And the question is...

Are you fulfilling the dreams God has given you?


The Only Alarm Clock You Desperately Need
Jon Acuff

This is a picture I took of my alarm clock two weeks ago in Indianapolis.

I wasn’t there to work out for the Colts, but that’s a pretty good assumption.

I spoke in Grant County, Indiana on a Friday night. Then rode 95 miles back to Indianapolis and checked into the hotel at 12:30AM. Roughly 3 hours later I was up for a flight to San Antonio.

Before I took my dream job, I didn’t expect so many 4 AM alarm clocks. I bought into the myth that when you find your passion or calling or dream, things will be easy. Life will flow like a gentle river of fresca, passing banks of candy cane grass. La. La. La.

I was wrong. Here’s the truth:

You will work harder at something you love than something you like.

You will work harder than you have ever worked when you start chasing a dream.

You will hustle and grind and sweat and push and pull.

You will get up earlier and go to bed later. But that’s OK.

Joy is an incredible alarm clock.

It will wake you up and keep you up and pick you up and gently pull you through a thousand rejections along the way.

If your goal is to work less, keep the day job you have. Do something you like. Settle into life like a long winter’s nap and coast on through to your 80s.

But if you want to dream. If you want to live out some unique talent you’ve been given to steward during your time on this planet, set the alarm for 4 AM.

Get going.

Get up.

Question:What is your dream job?

Read this article in it's original form here.

Inspiration Station

"Inspiration Station?" Not sure where that came from.

But, I have found a source of some daily inspiration - my iGoogle home page.

For those who may not be familiar with the iGoogle page, its basically the home page for Google that you are used to, but with your look, design, widgets, and flair. As you can see, I have some inspiration staring me in the face each time I launch my browser now, with verses and quotes changing frequently (Google is my home page, which defaults to my iGoogle page as long as I stay signed in).

So anyway, as we daily walk with the Lord and seek to fulfill the dreams He puts in our hearts, it doesn't hurt to have a little inspiration to lift us toward those dreams.

iGoogle... who knew?

Dreams

I would like to welcome my favorite guest blogger today, my lovely bride, Elizabeth! :)

God has given my wife many dreams over the years as it seems to be a consistent way he speaks to her. She recently wrote a short post about dreams, which I would encourage you to read below, especially if you are a fellow dreamer...

One of the ways that I believe God speaks to me is through dreams. Like the kind of dreams where you are sleeping- (in case anyone wasn't sure:) I have had dreams where I felt the Lords presence so strongly all I could do was weep. I also go through times where I will have the same/similar dream a couple times a week! As of now there are two specific dreams that I dream over and over. I have prayed and asked the Lord to show me what they mean.

To read the rest of this post click here.

Lost

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

Have you ever lost your way? As a man of course I have never gotten lost, nor ha...

I better stop right there. Because it simply isn't true.

I've been lost on the highway before, no doubt about it. But have you ever felt lost on the highway of life?

I wrote about it the other day, how the animated movie Cars surprisingly provided some comfort in my journey called life. Yet, I still feel I have more to share on the subject.

What do you do when things don't work out quite the way we had planned them to? What happens when a detour is thrown into our path and the dreams we had seem to be derailed? It seems that's where my family has been for the last little while. Do we abandon the dream? To we change the course? Is God wanting us to do something different?

For my wife and I, we have had a heart for ministry. Now, before I bleed my heart out anymore, the reality is that those who call themselves Christians are in ministry. We are the light of the world, and you don't need ministry to be an occupation or minister to be your title to reach out and love others the way Jesus told us to. We are the Body of Christ. But we have felt a specific longing for ministry. Full-time. Maybe it's a calling, maybe it's just pursuing our heart, either way, it's what we have gone back to. And more importantly, it's the direction it seems the Holy Spirit is leading us in.

So what do you do when things aren't looking the way you anticipated? Do we throw in the towel? Has God changed His mind? Did we miss it somehow? Do we really have anything to offer anyone?

I don't know the answer to these questions for you - I have difficulty answering them for myself sometimes.

But here is what I know...

Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

and

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

and

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

and

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

So... what do you do... But trust?

Problem is, that's easier said than done. It's more natural to trust in myself than Him. It's easier to trust in myself who is finite and limited and flawed, than the One who sees all, knows all, created me and can see the bigger picture. Doesn't make a lot of sense but it's the reality of my life at times.

OK, a lot of times.

So today, I choose to trust. As best I know how, I trust.

Even though I may feel lost, I know that in Him,

I am found.

Dream Giver

Delight yourself in the LORD, 
   and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4


Erwin McManus said it something like this: If you are passionate about God, you can trust your passions.


When he is our delight, we can trust that the desires we have in our heart are from Him. In fact, the Psalmist says that HE gives us desires. By the power of the Holy Spirit and the renewing of our minds, our desires become Christ-like, and we can use the dreams in our heart as a rudder in many ways regarding the will of the Lord. God is the ultimate dream giver! And as Christians, it is His dreams we should desire.


But let's not get the cart before the horse - the first question that should be answered is, Is He your delight?

His Voice

So thankful to receive wisdom and insight from the Lord today.

Anytime the Lord speaks, I am uplifted and encouraged. The Lord spoke to me through my good friend Tom Zurowski, the pastor at the church I gather with, The Chapel. Tom preached this week on finding the Lord's will for your life. As Tom says, most people play the "Don't ask, don't tell" game with God. They think that if they don't ask Him what His will is for their life, then maybe He wont tell them. Anyone who is playing that game with God of course has it all wrong and backwards, as finding out what He says for our life is what the Christian walk is all about.

I have had something in my heart for some time regarding the Lord's will for my and my family's life. However, I have had a seeming lack of direction regarding what to do next. I am going about my everyday life, carrying this vision in my heart. Sometimes I think about it, other times I am giving it little to no attention.

Tom's word this morning that spoke to me was, "Step toward it," and, "Lean into it."

That's what I needed to hear today. Simple, maybe, yet powerful enough to move a person toward their destiny, and it's what I needed to hear today.

He talked briefly to those who felt like God had given them a vision or calling or dream, but weren't sure what to do next. You've prayed, you desire His leading, yet you are unsure of what to do next. His advice? Step toward it. Don't wait for all the ducks to be in a row. Don't wait for the whole path to be laid out clearly. Lean into it.

Like I said, it was what I needed to hear. I believe that was the word that Tom felt was for someone in attendance today, and it very much could've been just for me.

As I reflect on it though, this word of encouragement only breathes life and focus into what I already felt the Lord was saying. It also reminds me that I am not obeying what I felt like He has said.

Convicted and encouraged. Time to lean in.