In His Will

Can you imagine what that would feel like? Can you imagine what that would be like?

I'm not sure I've ever been there, but I think I have. I don't mean that I was perfectly in God will, but there have been times when I felt like I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing.

Does this sound scary? I think it should. Everyone knows stories of someone who was so convinced that they were doing God's will that they either did something really stupid or were absolutely unwilling to listen to any counsel that contradicted what they believed. How does one prevent this from happening?

I don't know. But, I do have some ideas. Shock!

For me, my most recent, real life example would be raising support to go on staff with AIM. There were quite a few people who didn't think this was a good idea (there were also a fair number of people who supported our decision to go with AIM). I have a family to support, bills to pay, that kind of thing. Most of the people who didn't support the idea were very close to us, making it all the harder to accept. How does one stand against an unexpected onslaught of well thought-out criticism that is contrary to what one believes should be done? Did God really tell me what he wanted me to do? Did he just open a door of opportunity to see if I would take it? Or, was what I thought I should do actually contrary to God's will?

The Test - taken from AIM literature, but adaptable to just about anything

1. Does it exalt Christ? (John 16:14)
2. Is it scriptural? (Proverbs 30:5-6)
3. Do other Christians confirm it? (Proverbs 15:22)
4. Does it produce good fruit? (John 15: 1-16)
5. Does God bring it to pass? (Isaiah 55: 10-11)

The answers, by the numbers:

1. Yes. By foregoing the things that the world has to offer in terms of status, advancement, and security, I was/am following God's desires - Matthew 6:33, Luke 9:23
2. Yes. See verses in previous answer
3. Yes. Many of my friends confirmed that this was a good idea. Does this make it right? No, but it sure helps.
4. Yes. I've been able to spend more of my time in ministry - going on mission trips, going to prisons, talking at church. I believe that God has used these opportunities to bring people to him. I've got stories if you want to hear them...leave a comment.
5. Yes. Ten months after Carla and I decided to go full-time with AIM, we had raised over 100% of our support-raising goal.
   

So, with this test, I can say that God wanted us to go with AIM. Does this mean I'm right? No, of course not. But it does give me a level of confidence that I would not otherwise have.

Ok, back the original questions: Can you imagine what that would feel like? Can you imagine what that would be like? Am I there now? I don't know. I sure don't feel like I am - see the previous post. I think that we/I get stuck in the past. Sort of a 'if I did it this way before, it must be the only way' kind of thing. It doesn't appear to work this way with God. Not that one always has to think of new ways to talk to God and/or get his approval - nothing could be farther from the truth. It's more that one cannot rest on one's laurels. One needs to keep growing.

This is what I think happened to me; I have stopped trying to grow in my relationship with God. I just expected that what I had done in the past would be all I needed to do. To keep the record straight, God doesn't operate by performance-based acceptance (PBA). He loves us the same, no matter what and is always willing to forgive and restore us (I John 1:9, Ephesians 3: 17-19, Isaiah 38:17, Isaiah 43:25, Isaiah 55:6-7 (while I'm thinking about it, I just discovered Isaiah 58:6-11...very interesting), Joel 2:32) Ok, having said all that, I think that one needs to continue to learn and grow as a believer. It's like climbing a hill and stopping when you're at a place that you love and then never starting to climb again...

Dry Spell

I've been going through a dry spell.

I feel like God is not near.

I said this to someone when he asked if there was anything he could pray for. His first response to me was, 'Are you in the Word?' I had to say no.

I've been reading the Bible just for the heck of it. I pick up my small Bible and read Matthew. I was inspired to do this by Donald Miller, the guy who wrote 'Blue Like Jazz.' I'm sure it's a good idea and all, but I haven't spent any time studying God's word for three to four months.

So, of the last two mornings, I spent one of them actually studying. I'd love to say that everything is peachy, but of course it doesn't work that way. I do, however, feel like this is what I'm missing.

My wife and I led a mission trip to Mississippi at the beginning of July and I went will all the authority I could muster. AIM does a good job, I think, of letting project leaders know that they have been given spiritual authority over the trip. Throughout the entire trip, even after seeing God work and do cool stuff, I still felt like I wasn't right. I don't mean this in the sense of "I'm right and you're wrong,' I mean this in the sense that nothing felt right. There were a few times when I felt like I was solidly in his will, but, for the most part, I felt like I was on the outside, sort of hanging around for scraps from the table of his grace.

I do not blame God for this in any way. I'm the one who moved. He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. His will and direction are constant.

Drew, the speaker at my local Bible Study Fellowship (BSF), said, 'There is a difference between being in God's grace and God's approval.' I have felt, maybe since I heard him say that, that I am living in God's grace, not in his approval. Right now, God is being patient and longsuffering with me - this is what I think anyway. I am living only for myself. My focus and desires are only for me.

It's kind of like exercise: I think about it, imagine what it would be like to do all the workouts and exercises that I should do, I imagine eating properly but I never do it. I see myself falling down in my closet and asking God to forgive me for my sloth, arrogance, shortsightedness, and desire to go my own way. But I never do it.

I want to know what God wants me to do. I want to do what God wants me to do. I do not want to have a will of my own. I only want to follow him - to be part of whatever he is doing.