Recently, I heard this statement on a Joyce Meyer broadcast, “Move God, or move me.” Its has been on my mind ever since. What did this mean to me? Why did it keep coming to mind? I think I’ve figured it out.
Over the course of my life, I’ve experienced discontent so badly that nothing could make me happy. I felt stuck in the proverbial a rut. At those times, my heart was in an unpleasant, ungrateful, and unhappy place. I did several things to change my circumstances. I had a baby, lost weight, started a business, changed jobs, went back to school, joined a new church, and went back to school again. I never really prayed about it, though. Only recently have I begun to see how God was working in my life all through those times. As I change my thinking God seems to make things more and clear to me.
At one point I decided to take a new job, but on the first day I decide it wasn’t the place for me. It was a dirty, dusty, sticky place. In fact, once my shoe actually stuck to the floor behind me as was walking. I had to hop back a few steps to put my foot back into my shoe peel it off the floor. I shared a small office with a heavy smoker who didn’t like to clean much. I was very uncomfortable. Since I had been actively searching for a new job before being hired, my resume was already in the hands of several other companies, one of which called me for an interview. When they offered me a job, needless to say, I jumped at it the chance.
After about three years with the new company I got that uncomfortable feeling again. The company was moving into a new commodity that I wasn’t familiar with and really had no desire to learn about, so I decided it was time to move on. At about the same time a friend from the previous company, the one I left after only a month, invited me to come by for a visit. He said the owner wanted to show me what they had accomplished since I had left, and guess what? He had accomplished all that he promised he would when I decided to leave three years earlier. During that visit, the owner was gracious enough to offer me a job, again.
It was different this time. I could see things had changed. More importantly, I had a real peace about returning so the decision was quite easy. Everything clicked for a while until that old feeling of discontent started creeping in again, so I went back to school. I was trying to change my circumstances again, hoping this would improve my work life. It didn’t.
My work life started changing, really improving, only after my spiritual life started changing. God didn’t have to move me, He moved in me. He changed my attitude. As I learned, and continue to learn, about being humble, about forgiveness, about serving, and about working for God my whole life, not just my work life, keeps getting better and better.
I’ve shared my story before about being young and unhappy and asking the Lord for money, but getting a job instead. I’ve had one ever since, but even though I’ve always known where the job came from, I haven’t always been grateful for the gift. That’s something I had to work on. I’ve come to realized though that God places us in certain circumstance for His own reasons. It might be to reveal something of Himself to us, to discipline us for going against His will, or for us to help others. Ultimately, He wants to bring us closer to Him. As far as the job goes, God must want me there and I’ll be there until He moves me. I can’t wait to see what He has planned!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
"Need-to-Know"
Jerimiah 29:11-13
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
12 In those days when you pray, I will listen.
13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
I'm so glad I was finally able to add a picture of my Concrete Dove to this blog. Even more significant, I'm so happy it's there for me to pass over every day. It reminds me the He is lifting me up each day. It's reinforcement of God's presence in my life.
I've always wondered what His plan was for me. Since reading my Bible has become a habit, I've come across special passages over and over. They are special because they seem to speak to me, to what I need to know at that specific moment in time. When He shows me a special verse I underline it and write the date, and perhaps short note, in the margin next to the verse. I do this each every time because there are so many special ones that I haven't committed them all to memory yet. Sometimes I find verses that have several dates next to them.
I was listening to In Touch Ministry last Sunday, as I like to do on Sunday mornings, and the subject was Dr. Stanley's Life principle #10, "God will show you His will." When I listen to Dr. Stanley, I approach it as if it were a bible study. I use my new Life Principles Bible because it contains commentary by Dr. Stanley. It's like a built in study guide. During that lesson, he noted Jeremiah 29:11-13, which is all about God having a plan for each of us.
After breakfast, I went to church and the sermon topic was "How do I respond to God?" The speaker discussed ways one can know and understand God's plan for us, and what we're supposed to do about it. Again, Jerimiah 29:11-13 came up. Only this time when I referred it in my bible, my first bible, the one with all the notes written over the last 10 years, I notice that I had read, underlined, dated, and made notes by these verses on four other occasions. The first time was in April of 2000, when I first purchased the Bible. I guess he wanted me to know He had a plan, so He showed me that special verse. The second time was in 2007 when I was struggling to understand where He was and what He wanted me to do; twice in 2009, when I was fervently studying His Word, and finally last Sunday.
Later on that evening, I took out my bibles, both of them. That's when I noticed that, in the Life Principles Bible, Jerimiah 29:11 is highlighted as one of God's promises. I guess I must have "needed-to-know", again, that God has a plan for me. He's confirmed it for me year after year and then again on three separate occasions all in the same day. Do you think He's trying to tell me something? Maybe He's saying "Stay the course." At least that is what I'm hearing.
One of the most important ways we can discover God's plan for us is to read His word daily, then we have to pray for spiritual understanding. The Bible is His instruction manual, only sometimes He doesn't give us all the instructions at the same time, just what we can handle. I guess one would say that we're on a "need-to-know" basis with Him. He reveals what we need to know, when we need to know it. Just have faith and stick to the plan- -He will bless you for it.
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
12 In those days when you pray, I will listen.
13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
I'm so glad I was finally able to add a picture of my Concrete Dove to this blog. Even more significant, I'm so happy it's there for me to pass over every day. It reminds me the He is lifting me up each day. It's reinforcement of God's presence in my life.
I've always wondered what His plan was for me. Since reading my Bible has become a habit, I've come across special passages over and over. They are special because they seem to speak to me, to what I need to know at that specific moment in time. When He shows me a special verse I underline it and write the date, and perhaps short note, in the margin next to the verse. I do this each every time because there are so many special ones that I haven't committed them all to memory yet. Sometimes I find verses that have several dates next to them.
I was listening to In Touch Ministry last Sunday, as I like to do on Sunday mornings, and the subject was Dr. Stanley's Life principle #10, "God will show you His will." When I listen to Dr. Stanley, I approach it as if it were a bible study. I use my new Life Principles Bible because it contains commentary by Dr. Stanley. It's like a built in study guide. During that lesson, he noted Jeremiah 29:11-13, which is all about God having a plan for each of us.
After breakfast, I went to church and the sermon topic was "How do I respond to God?" The speaker discussed ways one can know and understand God's plan for us, and what we're supposed to do about it. Again, Jerimiah 29:11-13 came up. Only this time when I referred it in my bible, my first bible, the one with all the notes written over the last 10 years, I notice that I had read, underlined, dated, and made notes by these verses on four other occasions. The first time was in April of 2000, when I first purchased the Bible. I guess he wanted me to know He had a plan, so He showed me that special verse. The second time was in 2007 when I was struggling to understand where He was and what He wanted me to do; twice in 2009, when I was fervently studying His Word, and finally last Sunday.
Later on that evening, I took out my bibles, both of them. That's when I noticed that, in the Life Principles Bible, Jerimiah 29:11 is highlighted as one of God's promises. I guess I must have "needed-to-know", again, that God has a plan for me. He's confirmed it for me year after year and then again on three separate occasions all in the same day. Do you think He's trying to tell me something? Maybe He's saying "Stay the course." At least that is what I'm hearing.
One of the most important ways we can discover God's plan for us is to read His word daily, then we have to pray for spiritual understanding. The Bible is His instruction manual, only sometimes He doesn't give us all the instructions at the same time, just what we can handle. I guess one would say that we're on a "need-to-know" basis with Him. He reveals what we need to know, when we need to know it. Just have faith and stick to the plan- -He will bless you for it.
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