What do we expect?
I was just sitting here thinking about something my roommate said today. And I wonder why it is, that we so often are willing to share the little platitudes of the faith, but never the real story. And what is it that keeps us from talking about the miracles that happen every day to us?
I think I know. Often times, it's either so unbelievable or overwhelming that we're not sure whether or not we actually believe it.
I know that's a lot of why I don't share with all y'all like I used to. I can't ask others to believe what I often don't understand myself. Here's a case-in-point story that really happened. Miss June actually had a Sunday where she could go to church and on the way home, she got a little choked up as she told me that when she sees Pastor Karl at the pulpit, all she thinks of is the day he stood at the top of the steps of a chapel on a beautiful fall day in October. She said those words to me, and as she said them, we passed a car that was turning into the Family Dollar on Harrison Blvd that had Oregon license plates.
I think Miss June's secret hope was that her daughter and I would get back together. It's not gonna happen. That ship sailed ever so long ago. I tried. I failed. God has other plans now. I'm good with that. I'm very good with that, and it was something Miss June needed to let go of. So God provides, and His timing is impeccable. However, I'd be reluctant to share that story with all y'all under normal circumstances, because it just doesn't mean anything from a human standpoint, and I could be accused of making too much out of something.
But it doesn't change the fact that it happened at the exact moment it needed to.
My roommate spoke of his reluctancy to share what he calls the "mystical" (I would use a different word, but that's me) part of his walk with Christ in a Facebook post today. He had this idea that our church should tie scarves around trees and poles in Ogden for when it got cold. He chose the park behind the library because it's frequented by lots of people (poor, needy, homeless) but couldn't nail down a date. Finally he said a quick prayer in response to being pressured for a date to tie out the scarves and he said the date December 5 came to mind. That was a week ago Saturday. Scarves were quickly removed from said trees, and then about 10 days later, the snow came.
He gave credit to the I AM for the idea of the date, recognizing that God, as Creator is very much in charge of and in control of, His creation. Wayne didn't know when it was gonna snow, but God did. God gave him a thought and he acted on it. A bunch of people bought into that idea, and lots of folks in Ogden are warmer today because of it.
Of the things I could say about my church family, one of them that I'm the most fond of is how they indulge and embrace God-given ideas. They indulged Wayne and really participated in making and rounding up scarves for the folks in this community that needed them. God-given ideas are pretty cool.
I needed to be reminded of that today. It plays into a larger narrative of some of the things going on in my life. I'm on a path I need to stay on, that God-given idea in my life that I need to keep embracing. God is always good about reminding me of that, and today, again, I decided to yield to His plan, rather than chase after good. Getting off this path would be disastrous, something I was reminded of in my planned Bible reading.
Proverbs 15:10 (God is really GOOD, isn't He?.... for those that don't know, 1510 is also the tail number of an airplane I used to know.....) says: Whoever abandons the right path will be severely punished; whoever hates correction will die. (NLT)
I'm listening!
I took a little step toward the wrong path yesterday that went absolutely nowhere, thankfully. Fortunately God is good about letting me know that isn't a good idea. Mrs. Miles posted a little video on Facebook yesterday I saw that talked about how not every opportunity is from God and to stay on the right path. I saw a couple of other things that reminded me of that; one a timely reminder that we need to FEAR God (which is a good thing!) and trust in HIm and not our own understanding.
Wayne's little reminder was timely to me to remember the little miracles God does every day about making His will known and done in my life. Even when I don't share them.
So I titled this "What do we expect?" and that's a fair question. Do we expect God to answer our prayers? Or do we just pray them up in the hope that He's there and if He's not too busy, He will answer them in His own way? Do we expect the miracles, or do we just laugh them off a coincidence or circumstance?
I'm learning that it's not audacious to expect things from God...mostly because He tells us to expect things from HIm. I can't claim to follow Jesus unless I believe He's capable of leading me...and will lead me. I can expect God to fulfill His promises. I can expect a God-given idea will produce fruit. I can expect God to show up.
I can also expect the unexpected. Quite often, the unexpected happens. I can expect that God will use other people to speak to my situation. I can expect Him to show those around me what He has in mind (like Miss June and the ride home on Sunday). I can expect God to participate in my life because it's who HE is. It has nothing to do with me.
I can also expect that if I deviate from His will that things aren't gonna go well. All too often, I think we forget that. I've been in and out of God's will for my life.
I'll take IN any day!
Even if it means walking past something that looks good to get to best.
I think I know. Often times, it's either so unbelievable or overwhelming that we're not sure whether or not we actually believe it.
I know that's a lot of why I don't share with all y'all like I used to. I can't ask others to believe what I often don't understand myself. Here's a case-in-point story that really happened. Miss June actually had a Sunday where she could go to church and on the way home, she got a little choked up as she told me that when she sees Pastor Karl at the pulpit, all she thinks of is the day he stood at the top of the steps of a chapel on a beautiful fall day in October. She said those words to me, and as she said them, we passed a car that was turning into the Family Dollar on Harrison Blvd that had Oregon license plates.
I think Miss June's secret hope was that her daughter and I would get back together. It's not gonna happen. That ship sailed ever so long ago. I tried. I failed. God has other plans now. I'm good with that. I'm very good with that, and it was something Miss June needed to let go of. So God provides, and His timing is impeccable. However, I'd be reluctant to share that story with all y'all under normal circumstances, because it just doesn't mean anything from a human standpoint, and I could be accused of making too much out of something.
But it doesn't change the fact that it happened at the exact moment it needed to.
My roommate spoke of his reluctancy to share what he calls the "mystical" (I would use a different word, but that's me) part of his walk with Christ in a Facebook post today. He had this idea that our church should tie scarves around trees and poles in Ogden for when it got cold. He chose the park behind the library because it's frequented by lots of people (poor, needy, homeless) but couldn't nail down a date. Finally he said a quick prayer in response to being pressured for a date to tie out the scarves and he said the date December 5 came to mind. That was a week ago Saturday. Scarves were quickly removed from said trees, and then about 10 days later, the snow came.
He gave credit to the I AM for the idea of the date, recognizing that God, as Creator is very much in charge of and in control of, His creation. Wayne didn't know when it was gonna snow, but God did. God gave him a thought and he acted on it. A bunch of people bought into that idea, and lots of folks in Ogden are warmer today because of it.
Of the things I could say about my church family, one of them that I'm the most fond of is how they indulge and embrace God-given ideas. They indulged Wayne and really participated in making and rounding up scarves for the folks in this community that needed them. God-given ideas are pretty cool.
I needed to be reminded of that today. It plays into a larger narrative of some of the things going on in my life. I'm on a path I need to stay on, that God-given idea in my life that I need to keep embracing. God is always good about reminding me of that, and today, again, I decided to yield to His plan, rather than chase after good. Getting off this path would be disastrous, something I was reminded of in my planned Bible reading.
Proverbs 15:10 (God is really GOOD, isn't He?.... for those that don't know, 1510 is also the tail number of an airplane I used to know.....) says: Whoever abandons the right path will be severely punished; whoever hates correction will die. (NLT)
I'm listening!
I took a little step toward the wrong path yesterday that went absolutely nowhere, thankfully. Fortunately God is good about letting me know that isn't a good idea. Mrs. Miles posted a little video on Facebook yesterday I saw that talked about how not every opportunity is from God and to stay on the right path. I saw a couple of other things that reminded me of that; one a timely reminder that we need to FEAR God (which is a good thing!) and trust in HIm and not our own understanding.
Wayne's little reminder was timely to me to remember the little miracles God does every day about making His will known and done in my life. Even when I don't share them.
So I titled this "What do we expect?" and that's a fair question. Do we expect God to answer our prayers? Or do we just pray them up in the hope that He's there and if He's not too busy, He will answer them in His own way? Do we expect the miracles, or do we just laugh them off a coincidence or circumstance?
I'm learning that it's not audacious to expect things from God...mostly because He tells us to expect things from HIm. I can't claim to follow Jesus unless I believe He's capable of leading me...and will lead me. I can expect God to fulfill His promises. I can expect a God-given idea will produce fruit. I can expect God to show up.
I can also expect the unexpected. Quite often, the unexpected happens. I can expect that God will use other people to speak to my situation. I can expect Him to show those around me what He has in mind (like Miss June and the ride home on Sunday). I can expect God to participate in my life because it's who HE is. It has nothing to do with me.
I can also expect that if I deviate from His will that things aren't gonna go well. All too often, I think we forget that. I've been in and out of God's will for my life.
I'll take IN any day!
Even if it means walking past something that looks good to get to best.
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