Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Wait, Trust, Follow, Expect

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.  Corrie Ten Boom

What does fulfillment mean?  According to the dictionary fulfillment means “to develop the full potential of something or to carry out an obligation.”

Do you fulfill the purpose of why God placed you on earth?  This is one of the hardest things for us to learn because our very nature and the world around us teach us to be self-serving instead of what I call “other-serving.”

If we are ever to reach our full potential on earth it is necessary to let go.  I would compare this to driving while blindfolded.  That is exactly what it feels like when we release our need to control every situation and allow God to work.  It means we have to follow God’s lead even when we don’t know where we are going.  In a devotional by Rick Warren he says it involves “Waiting, Trusting, Following and Expecting.” 

This is extremely difficult in a world that teaches us to be self-reliant.  In other words if I don’t look out for myself, no one else will.  The opposite is true if we rely on God instead of ourselves. 

I have a tendency to think that I am in control.  When I start thinking this way I push God aside and step out, not in faith, but in thinking that I can do it on my own. 

If I am not able to wait on God and his timing then I am probably going to miss out on a lot of blessings.  If I don’t trust that He knows what is best for me, then I will miss the opportunity to learn wisdom even during trials.  The majority of the time we don’t want to be followers.  Why should we follow God without knowing where we will end up?  It is like jumping off a cliff with no parachute. If I am not willing to trust that God has my best interest in mind even when it doesn’t make sense, then I have missed the point entirely. This one is really important. Too many times we don’t expect God to work in our lives.  We halfheartedly ask for God’s guidance or blessing, fully expecting that He will not come through for us.  
   
We become self-defeating when we learn to depend only on ourselves to get us out of the jams of life.  One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 3:4-6.  It says trust the Lord, lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will direct your paths.   Notice it doesn’t say, only trust Him when you can’t handle the circumstance, or lean on Him only when you’ve already resolved it, or acknowledge Him when you feel like it and finally let Him direct your path when all else fails.  If we are to ever feel the peace that surpasses all understanding, we should focus our thoughts on God and wait, follow, trust and expect Him to work for our good.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am guilty of lacking patience when it comes to waiting for You to work in my life.  I take “You” out of the equation and replace it with “me” and that is when I become like a train wreck waiting to happen.  If I follow You, trust and expect that You will respond, that is when I can be a total peace in my life because then I am not depending on my feeble attempts to run my life.     
    

Scripture:  And so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.  Proverbs 3:4-6

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