There are so many unanswered questions in my heart these days, but the peace that consumes me somehow settles these matters in my spirit, giving me the strength I need to continue on this journey.
That sounds nice, but sometimes I'd be grateful for some hint of where this train is going. I was chatting on Facebook the other night with my friend, Wendy, and after my usual rant about having no clue what God is doing in all the "not normal" stuff that defines my life lately, she simply said, "You are in the hand of God right now."
"Well," I replied, "it would be really great if He could just open His fingers up a bit and let a little light in, because it's dark in here, and I can't see a thing!"
How often do we, having yielded our lives to the One from whom our destiny came in the first place, find ourselves still struggling for some sense of control over the direction in which we are headed? Admittedly, too often. Giving up control doesn't come easy.
Faith requires us to walk boldly into uncharted territory. It dictates that we stand in foreign places with the confident assurance that God is who He says He is, and that He will do what He said He will do in and through us.
It is only when our will has been conformed to His own that we experience the true freedom that He intended for us from the beginning. Our dreams are not designed to be achieved but fulfilled. The dreams that He has planted within us can only be fulfilled when we stop trying to achieve them and trust them back to Him. Even in this very moment, He is preparing us for the fulfillment (the development of the full potential of) our dreams and our destinies.
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It is the sound of a strong and steady wind that I hear approaching. It seems to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. It sounds like no other wind I have ever heard - gentle yet strong, and I close my eyes to listen to its voice.
It is the breath of God. It is the sound that was heard in the most defining moment of Creation as the Almighty exhaled, breathing eternal existence into the lifeless body of Adam. It is the sound I hear now, as lifeless dreams are beginning to stir with anticipation. The winds of eternity are approaching, and nothing will ever be the same again.
"Blessed is she who has believed that
what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished."
Luke 1:45
It's about trust and faith, and it's about free will, but I think it's about relationship most of all. If he shows us where we're going, we try to just go there. This way, we have to walk with God, partner with God, work with God, talk with God along the way. Otherwise, we see the trail strikes out west, so we take off west, but maybe we're supposed to stay on the trail the whole way at the same speed, and maybe not, Maybe we're supposed to stop at Dry Gulch and plant a rose for someone to smell. Maybe we're supposed to wander off into the desert to reach an Ethiopian, or rescue Nell, or find a baby. Maybe we're supposed to stop at a well and offer living water to a beaten down 30 year old woman who's been rode hard and hung up wet. Maybe we're supposed to stop at the ambush and love on the punk kids who set it. If we're moseying, running, skipping, dancing, and riding as hard as the horses can stand down the trail with God, we'll do all these things. If we take off down the trail ourselves, who knows what we will or won;t do, except miss a lot of things and do some dumb stuff. Sure, we'll do some God stuff along the way. Some of it'll even be right. But it'll be about 3% of what we could have doe with Him, plus we'll have missed out on all the talks, the laughter, the hoe downs, His binding our wounds, and learning things the better way instead of the hardest way with a bunch of regrets.
ReplyDeleteNo, I'm not completely there yet. Do I still sometimes chaff at His pace? Sadly, yes. But I've done it the hard way, and it's no fun. Hanging out with Daddy-- there's fulfillment.
That wind-- several people saw and heard it at RRC this morning, and I think almost everyone felt it. Ahhhhh....
Thank you, Miles, for your insight. I whole-heartedly agree. I love the picture that your words have painted in my mind and in my spirit.
ReplyDeleteMay we all embrace every moment and experience it to its fullest potential.