Tonight I was speaking with a friend that is going through a major life transition. At this point in the game some major decisions need to be made and my friend is having an interesting time navigating the path. As we talked things through, God revealed a point to both of us that was much needed and received. At the end of this note I have a question for you, just remind me so that I don’t forget!
Everyday we are given many options to choose from. What will we wear? What will we eat for breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? What car will we drive? What profession will we pursue? Sometimes the fact that we have so many choices distorts our perception in our walk with Christ. We become so focused on what we want that we lose sight of what God’s plan is for us. We can have the same situation, and depending on the day, respond in two totally different ways. Two men come to mind when I begin to think of what a difference perception and a God centered mindset can make.
The first man that comes to mind is Abraham. He was directed by God to get up, leave his country, relatives, his father’s family, and go into a land that he would be shown. The catch was he would only see the land after he obeyed God. Abraham (Abram) got up, packed his things, and went on his way. He never asked God “well where exactly are you taking me and am I going to have enough?” Abraham trusted God and was so connected with God that he knew as long as he was obedient he would be covered. As Abraham moved, God showed him the land that he would later inhabit. God speaks to us this way daily, but many times we miss it because we are so blinded by our own plans. Sometimes you have to move on pure direction. There are times that God knows if He showed you the full plan you would just mess it all up. You might go a direction that was not necessary or act prematurely. Here’s an example:
So you tell your son, “Jr., I need you to put your toy truck in your toybox so that we can get ready to go somewhere.”
Jr. replies, “But Mom/Dad, WHHHYYYY???” (insert a sad, puppy face)
You know in your mind that you are taking Jr. to Toys’R’Us. You also know that if you don’t make Jr. put that truck, that’s sitting in between him and the door up, he will get excited about Toys’R’Us, stand up and run towards the door and fall over the truck (that he forgot was there). That fall may end up costing you hundreds of dollars and time with a doctor’s office. We are little Jr. We get overly excited and move without thought or deliberation because the end result sounds great to us. We don’t always stop to count the cost. There are times when you have to just stop, hear the instruction God is giving you, and move on just that word. It may not make sense to you at the time, but with each instruction you obey the picture becomes clear.
The second man that came to mind was Jonah. Now this man was the poster child for rebellion! Jonah was told to go to Nineveh and announce God’s judgment because of their wickedness. The third verse reads: (NLT)
“But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.”
REALLY!?! So you literally did the opposite of what God told you to do? Jonah knew his end destination and the reason he was going, but decided that he didn’t want to. He attempted to escape God, which we know always fails! What he did succeed in doing was making his journey tougher and longer. He spent a few rocky days at sea on a boat full of strangers, which in turn tossed off the boat, and finally he found himself in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights. After his extended journey was done, Jonah was instructed again by God to go to Nineveh and announce the judgment.
What amazed me was both men got the exact same instructions; GO! How many times will God have to tell you to go? Will he have to prolong your trip or will you just be obedient? In the end God will always get the set result that He planned. You can either make it difficult or easy. You can prolong the plan because you “don’t understand it” or you “don’t know what the next move will be” or you can be obedient and trust God to finish all that He begins in you. He didn’t hide His treasures in you for them to be hidden and never used! He put them in you to be drawn from as a resource to others around you. We as a culture have to stop being so selfish and realize that sometimes another persons blessing is wrapped up in our obedience.
So the next time God tells you to go will your actions be those of an Abraham or a Jonah? Will those around you, when you are dead and gone, acknowledge you as an Abraham or a Jonah? Obedient or selfish? In the end God knows your name not by your speech, but by your actions. And your actions begin in your mind.
2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 NLT
So in the beginning I had a question (Thanks for reminding me). If God reviewed your actions over the last 24 hours, who would he say you remind him of? Are you a Jonah? Or are you Abraham? Which would you resemble and are you comfortable with what He would find?
