understanding that i could hear God (and so can you) radically changed my life. i went from cautiously stepping to boldly jumping. i went from fake-it-til-you-make-it confidence to true confidence.
but it has been rose pedals and rainbows the whole journey…nor is it only that now.
but i have learned some things along the way. one of the things i learned i feel like applies to so many. maybe it is prophetic insight (God is sharing with me what is going on) or maybe it is just me.
here’s the thing…we as humans get in our mind that x should look like y and if it doesn’t, it’s wrong. for instance, working out has to look like at least 30 min all out effort and i have to be drenched at the end of it for it to “count.” the reality is all movement matters but because it is easy to believe that, it is easy to not move at all because it won’t “count.”
something God has been intentionally teaching me recently is just because it’s hard or difficult or painful doesn’t mean i missed Him.
what i mean by that is this….
sometimes God allows those situations to play out because it is the perfect catalyst for what He wants to do. things like just because you….
- hate your job, doesn’t mean you are supposed to leave your job.
- a transition is incredibly painful, doesn’t mean you weren’t supposed to make that transition.
- you don’t want to be single, doesn’t mean you don’t have a calling for being single.
- don’t think you are hearing God, doesn’t mean He isn’t speaking.
obviously sometimes if you hate your job it is exactly what God is using to get you out of it and sometimes when you think you missed hearing Him, you have. in my life, however, i find it so much more often that i haven’t really missed Him at all, it’s simply part of the process.
it is easy to give God a bad rap…”how could You let this happen?” “a good God wouldn’t…” and on and on and on. but the truth of the matter is that He set things in motion. He created cause and effect. He gave us choice. He could move us from a painful thing immediately to the happy side of things…but then we would miss out on that whole middle part which is where He can be for us things He can’t be any other time.
i find myself in a place where “worldly wisdom” would say i am crazy. i am doing everything wrong. and let me tell you…it’s hard. it’s hard to trust that being obedient God will come through to fix things. my life right now is not prescriptive for the church but it is descriptive of His love and walking in obedience.
it is hard when obedience means not having money or being able to serve. it is hard when obedience means living far away and not getting to be around my friends who i love so much. it is hard when obedience means laying down what i want for what He is trying to grow in me. and there have been moments when i wonder…did i miss it? did i get it wrong?
but i don’t think i have. i know i haven’t. the peace that sits in me is evidence of His constant faithfulness to use even the hard times to grow and shape and bless me.
there is no one size fits all answer. only He can give you the answer you need. should you leave your job or try something new or engage singleness differently. i encourage you to ask God what He wants to be for you in this season that He can’t be for you in any other (thank you Graham Cooke for the excellent question) and see what He says. it may be that He wants to show you a new level of provider that can’t happen in any other season than the one your in. He may want to show you how good of a Father He is and this is the perfect season for it.
