Stay in the Race: It's the spiritual blessing I'm after....

Remember those prayers under my bed?

I said the only way they could come true is if God made them come true.  There was no way I could manipulate them into happening.  I had concluded that this was the will of God for my life and if it didn't happen then my faith would be shattered.

I really need to stop being so dramatic

So have those prayers come true?  Not at all.

Am I disappointed?  Not at all

Is my faith shattered? Not a chance

Is my faith strengthened?  You bet it is

As I said on this blog a few weeks ago, the circumstances don't matter.  The physical blessing doesn't matter.  I am after the spiritual blessing and did I receive that?  Yes I did.

Conclusion and Risk

I made a mistake of concluding far too soon about what it is God had in mind for my life.  I had decided what he meant and ran with it.  Now I know better.   You don't need to judge and conclude on the circumstances.

What I got out of the experience is that if you're going to trust God, then you've got to take risks .  You've got to step ut there on faith and he answers BUT sometimes his answers don't mean what YOU think they mean.  I take things very literally, but God isn't like that.  His ways are not my ways. His thoughts are not my thoughts.

Before I stepped out on faith, I did not take risks becuse I thought God wasn't listening.  I figured he had tired of my grumbling, complaining, and since nothing was changing all of my efforts were in vain anyway.

Through that experience, I learned he WAS listening and after that I began to earnestly pray in faith.  I actually began to pray and believe.  I've talked on the blog about how before my prayers were pitiful.  I would try and offer ways out and it was almost as if I was saying "Welllll Loooord iiiiiffff you're reallllly listening...how about this?"

Forget having no faith.  I had negative faith.  I had faith that something negative would happen.

But I  have received two very big spiritual blessings: Not being so conclusive and the importance of taking risks.

I have learned not to jump to conclusions and judgments about what God meant.  It isn't about the circumstances anyway.  It's about what God wants to accomplish with his purpose.

Learning to step out and take risks  Hey I might be wrong!  No shame in it!  It doesn't mean my life is over.  It just means that God has a better plan!!  It is pointless to wallow in the mire and get frustrated because my plan didn't happen.  For the most part it's a good thing that God does not listen to my plans.  They would have led to disaster and destruction.

Staying in the Race

What does this have to do with staying in the race?

This time last  year I would have been ready to drop out of the race because things didn't go like I wanted them to.  I would have been ready to drop out of the race because I've been putting in work and my circumstances have not changed.  I still have ZERO prospects with no hope in sight.

The game has changed and I'm NOT giving up just because my circumstnaces haven't changed. I'm not going to take matters into my own hands and try to force things to happen because things are going to slow for my tastes.  I'm staying in the race and following the course that is put before me and saying Yes to God.

I'm sticking this thing out.  I'm not giving out not only because the reward is too great but because this sacred journey is all for his glory.

All of this is the foundation for my teaching/empowerment movement/ministry so I must stay in the race because I believe God is going to use me to teach, empower, and encourage others who have dealt with similar issues.

It isn't just about me but about God's purposes so I must STAY IN THE RACE!


To God be the Glory!