Don’t we all desire to follow Jesus and have life just fall into place, how we want it to be? Don’t we imagine walking through a bed of roses with the sun shining down without a care in the world? Who’s chuckling along with me? We know very well that life this side of heaven is anything but a utopia world.
Every morning when you wake up, you must choose Jesus. You must choose Jesus with every decision you make throughout your day. You must choose to be willing to follow what He has for you, and accept the outcome. But man oh man, does your flesh fight it! And the daily grind to believe and follow can turn into your faith becoming disappointed, disgruntled, joyless. Can anyone relate?
The Apostle Paul understands as he wrote Colossians 1:21-23b, “You, who were once far away from God, you were enemies, separated from Him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet, now He has reconciled you to Himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. As a result, He has brought you into His own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.”
What are you currently facing that seems long suffering, unending, and God is calling you to endure, to wait upon Him? You pray, you are doing your best to trust God and hold on, but as your day(s) unfold, you are wondering, “God, where are you? What are you doing? I didn’t expect my life to look like this.” And you allow yourself to drift away from Him.
Drifting away means that your flesh is tired of Jesus being first, and you want to orchestrate your day. You do what you deem as important rather than letting God lead you. You are open to His leading, but lately, where He has you isn’t as fun, or exciting, or rewarding. The hardest place that God often puts His children is in times of waiting. You pray, then wait, and wait, and wait, and wait. Then He answers you but it’s not what you thought or planned.
Has God disrupted your plans as a believer?
You are reaching retirement and you father passes away and your mother has health issues and needs to move in with you. You will be caregiving her now. Your child has developed a disease that will affect the rest of his life. Every time you plan a vacation, unforeseen expenses pop up and you can’t go. You lose your job and it takes months to find another one and it drained your savings account. You raise your kids only for them to move far away. The list is endless, yet through all these disgruntled things, you and I know this is true, “The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.” (Lamentations 3:25 ESV)
We also know with certainty what David said in Psalm 33:18-22, “But the LORD watches over those who fear Him, those who rely on His unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine. We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in You alone.”
Despite what we desire for our lives, when we choose to follow Jesus, we are handing ourselves over to the One who created us and chose to give us life. He is trustworthy with all our days as He is the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. His plan of redemption is taking place and He has called you and me to be a part of it. When He changes our course, it’s for a very important reason; for Jesus to be glorified.
So, when you wake up tomorrow morning, may you (and I) tell God, “I will follow whatever you have for me for You are to be glorified. I need your help in serving you Lord. May your will be done over my own.” God will take you from having disgruntled faith to a grateful faith where your heart will become realigned with His.
There is nothing on this side of heaven worthy of your attention that lessens your faith in Christ. This world is tainted with sin and it’s decaying towards death. Jesus removed you from that path and has given you an eternal path to walk on. James 1:12 ESV says, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.”
Carol J German 