Two weeks ago today I began my journey home from Denver to Indianapolis. When I left Denver, it was a beautiful, sunny day; and as the warmth of the sun penetrated into my car, I could feel God's love surrounding me. I continued to drive east and eventually had to stop to put gas in my car. When I got out of my car, it was overcast and extremely windy--I was literally being pulled this way and that. I got back into my car and headed for the interstate. Shortly after I got back on the road, it started snowing and the roads were becoming increasingly worse due to the poor weather conditions. I began to feel a little nervous and scared as I was losing control of my car on the slippery roads. It finally began to calm down, and as I drove on it became very foggy. I could not see much to my left or right, or what was behind me in my rearview mirror, but I could see clearly the taillights of the car in front of me. Then, I passed out of the fog and into a place that was very dry and brown. It was an area that was withering away and needed to be refreshed and replenished with rainfall. At the end of the day came a beautiful sunset.
So how does all this relate to what God was speaking to me? I think He was showing me that these are often the different seasons of my walk with the Lord. Sometimes it's sunny and everything is going great...other times it's really windy and I'm being tempted and pulled this way or that by Satan...there are times when I'm nervous or scared of losing control in the midst of chaos...during times of intense fog, I can choose to follow the Lord instead of going to the left or right or even looking into the past...I have gone through seasons of spiritual dryness, where I need to look to Him to replenish me and fill me up...and the beautiful sunset at the end of the day represented a time of comfort, where I can just rest in God's arms and enjoy His beauty!
wait on the LORD. trust.
glorify His name.
it's all for You, Jesus.
On Saturday as I was driving down to Jasper I began to get this word picture in my head about God's direction on my life. Before I left, I had plugged in the address to Mapquest and printed out directions on how to get to Dan & Karen's farmhouse. I had been there a few times before but had never driven it myself. Sometimes God takes us places with other people as we attempt to go along for the ride, not knowing exactly how they got there...
As I was driving, I began noticing some of the directions from Mapquest were a little off, so I just kept following the signs to stay on the particular road I needed to be on. Then I realized, isn't that how God so often works in our lives? He may reveal to us our end goal (destination) and we often plan out or write down how we think we will get there. Then, all of a sudden, as we are actually going through life, he may achieve His purpose in us or through us a little differently than we had originally mapped out. We must be albe to discern His spirit when we are in the moment, and choose to follow where He leads. In the end, we finish where God had originally called us to go, but our means to get there may have been slightly altered because God's plans are so much better than ours and we could never orchestrate things so perfectly like He does. Our thoughts and plans are limited by our earthly thinking capacities, but God sees all things and works them together for our good. What an awesome, sovereign, powerful, holy God we serve!! Praise Him!
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." --Jeremiah 29:11
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, who have been called according to his purpose." --Romans 8:28
