Praise to God!
The when or what of this story doesn't matter, but I almost stumbled the other day. I almost stepped back into the worldview that things that aren't OK sometimes are, for the right reasons. They're not and fortunately on the day when I almost stumbled God stepped in.
I wasn't where I needed to be, relationship wise, and there gets to be a point in relationships where they either need to grow or die. When you're dating someone who has needs you can't meet, sometimes the best thing you can do is let go. Let's face it, I never know when it's time to let go and it was time a few weeks ago.
I tried to stumble but God prevented it! A phone call went unanswered and when it was finally returned, the ensuing conversation morphed into something God used to get both of us to see that the relationship was not where either of us needed to be. The thing is though, I had no intention of things turning out the way they did. It was just a God thing. At just the right moment, the words coming out of my mouth were not my own but they were the right ones to use.
Jude 1:24-25 (NIV) says: To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
This is my prayer of praise to God today! He kept me from stumbling. He prevented it and He used the situation to move me along.
Kurt Vonnegut tells a story in one of his book about a man who had a bird in a cage. Every day the bird looked through the cage and out the window of the man's apartment. All the bird wanted was to be free. One day the man was leaving for a trip and decided to do three things for the bird: first he opened the cage door. The bird flew to the window and desperately wanted out of the window. Second, the man opened the window. Astonished and frightened by all this new found freedom, the bird immediately flew back into the safety of the cage. The third thing the man did for the bird was shut the cage door.
Sometimes getting everything you want or think you want is a scary proposition. I always tell God that when things are good, I need Him more and that was true during the moments this story played out. Some things are happening in my life. Good things. Things I have wanted for a very long time may in the future turn out to be very real opportunities. The thing is, though, I've seen some of these things not go in my favor in the past so like the bird, I wanted to stay in the safety of what I knew. That same story applied to the other person in the relationship, but in different ways. She could have had everything she ever wanted, but the thing I couldn't give her was the thing she needed the most. She had her own cage to fly back into, metaphorically speaking, of course.
I learned that God has His hand on my life, literally. I cannot orchestrate what happened yesterday. I'm not that smart. Nobody is. Things are well again. I am out of what was starting to be an unhealthy relationship. It's sad in a way, but knowing I'm resting in God's Providence and Love are comforts you cannot buy with money.
I wasn't where I needed to be, relationship wise, and there gets to be a point in relationships where they either need to grow or die. When you're dating someone who has needs you can't meet, sometimes the best thing you can do is let go. Let's face it, I never know when it's time to let go and it was time a few weeks ago.
I tried to stumble but God prevented it! A phone call went unanswered and when it was finally returned, the ensuing conversation morphed into something God used to get both of us to see that the relationship was not where either of us needed to be. The thing is though, I had no intention of things turning out the way they did. It was just a God thing. At just the right moment, the words coming out of my mouth were not my own but they were the right ones to use.
Jude 1:24-25 (NIV) says: To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
This is my prayer of praise to God today! He kept me from stumbling. He prevented it and He used the situation to move me along.
Kurt Vonnegut tells a story in one of his book about a man who had a bird in a cage. Every day the bird looked through the cage and out the window of the man's apartment. All the bird wanted was to be free. One day the man was leaving for a trip and decided to do three things for the bird: first he opened the cage door. The bird flew to the window and desperately wanted out of the window. Second, the man opened the window. Astonished and frightened by all this new found freedom, the bird immediately flew back into the safety of the cage. The third thing the man did for the bird was shut the cage door.
Sometimes getting everything you want or think you want is a scary proposition. I always tell God that when things are good, I need Him more and that was true during the moments this story played out. Some things are happening in my life. Good things. Things I have wanted for a very long time may in the future turn out to be very real opportunities. The thing is, though, I've seen some of these things not go in my favor in the past so like the bird, I wanted to stay in the safety of what I knew. That same story applied to the other person in the relationship, but in different ways. She could have had everything she ever wanted, but the thing I couldn't give her was the thing she needed the most. She had her own cage to fly back into, metaphorically speaking, of course.
I learned that God has His hand on my life, literally. I cannot orchestrate what happened yesterday. I'm not that smart. Nobody is. Things are well again. I am out of what was starting to be an unhealthy relationship. It's sad in a way, but knowing I'm resting in God's Providence and Love are comforts you cannot buy with money.
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