To be honest, the 2 words in my title do not generally describe me. At all. However, something I read today really has made me stop and think.
From My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers…
“We must never put our dreams of success as God’s purpose for us; His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have an idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal; He is not. The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident. What we call the process, God calls the end.
What is my dream of God’s purpose? His purpose is that I depend on Him and His power now. If I can stay in the middle of the turmoil calm and unperplexed, that is the end of the purpose of God. God is not working towards a particular finish; His end is the process – that I see Him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just the absolute certainty that it is all right because I see Him walking on the sea. It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God.”
Several things jump out at me as I read this. So many times I hear people praying or discussing how a certain thing must be in God’s will because it is GOOD and will help them be SUCCESSFUL. I don’t know, we are promised life abundantly, God is faithful, I believe He is good…but I don’t believe that His plan for us always to be successful. I believe the world’s view of success has warped our minds so much so that now, even as believers, our view of success is very blurred. Sometimes the biggest and most important lessons in my life have come from hardship and trial…not from success.
I also know that for myself, I am often not calm and unperplexed. When I am distressed, I am showing my lack of trust in the Lord. I love the fact that God isn’t looking to make me into something. He is wanting to mold me, make me, He is looking for a heart that loves Him above all else. But I don’t have to have a position of authority or royalty to do that. Am I trusting Him completely in the waves, in the successes and in the failures, when I can’t see the shoreline at all?
“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!” Psalm 27:14.
Candace,
So true and good! The Lord is good to us even in our troubles because they are for our good. These have been my thoughts lately. A good book I’ve read is called Stepping Heavenward. Thanks for the post.
Thanks for sharing this! I needed to read this TODAY!
Candace,
Thank you for sharing this. I know that you know I’m struggling with a few things and this was particularly good to read.
In church last week a man came to share. I attend a house church where we meet in homes, so we don’t generally get “preaching” but this man had some good things to share. Unfortunately my duties were with the kiddos so I couldn’t hear all of what he was saying, but I did hear some of it. Just today I was driving thinking I really wished someone had taped it – I would have like to have heard all of what this man said. I think it would have done me good.One thing that I did hear him say was something to the effect that “we all pray for someone to get healed, that God wants us healed. well not everyone will be healed and God doesn’t do it and we all WILL die. God didn’t plan for us to have it easy and we won’t all be healed. Sometimes people go to the hospital and don’t come out. etc….” During the talk, it made so much sense. Now? It sounds like I’m rambling. But basically it was something that he pointed out to all of us that things aren’t as we might see them, just as what you posted the Oswald Chambers wrote.
I’m struggling right now but maybe this is exactly where God wants me. I’m not in a happy place with Him, in my relationship. I’m not sure my feelings concern Him as much as that I’m going through it.