Are you afraid you’re going to miss what the Lord has for you?

If so, then this blog is for you.  🙂

The Lord really impressed it on my heart a couple weeks ago that if I believe I can miss what He has for me when I’m seeking Him first then I am actually believing lies about His character and nature:

• that He is not good enough to carry me through to the end,
• that even if I get something wrong, He can’t use my failures ultimately for my good,
• that He isn’t truly helping me every moment of every day get to where He wants me to be as I’m submitted to Him.

 

Obviously, He’s been continuing to speak to me about this (because I continually need it), so I thought I’d share it with you too.  🙂  Here are some specific things that the Lord has been teaching me about aligning myself with His will for my life…

 

1. You don’t have to work harder.

That’s called striving, and there is no room for that in the life of a believer.  I don’t mean that you don’t need to put your hand to the plow and push for the things you know are God’s will for you to do (example: my recent album Seasons which you can check out here), but I do mean that when you are working and things still aren’t happening the way you thought they would, you simply HAVE to let go of control.  If you have done all God has asked you to do (only you can know this), you can trust all is in His hands.  He’s not somehow requiring you to do something else He hasn’t told you, especially when you’re seeking Him with all that you are.

An example of this is, how cruel it would be if the Lord required you to work 8 days a week?  He created weeks with 7 days and actually commands that we do no work on one!  🙂  Sometimes we think that we are holding ourselves back by somehow not working hard enough, but that thought process causes us to forget about the Lord’s goodness and sovereignty.  He knows what He wants you to do, and what He’s going to take care of – and has already factored this in.  Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you have to work harder than God to attain His will for your life.

 

2. You don’t have to move faster.

You have to trust the timing of God.  I love something that Graham Cooke says – moving the hands of a watch doesn’t change the time.  You can try and move into what you think God has for you as fast as you want, but that may not be what He has for you, or it’s just not time yet!  We can’t manipulate the timing of God in our lives.

If I’m feeling anxious when making a decision on what God’s will is for my life, the best thing to do is to step back and relax.  I need His wisdom and guidance, but He gives it with His peace.  The enemy tries to get us so wrapped up in the anxiety of the moment that we can’t think clearly and make rash decisions, but God wants us to slow down and only move at rest.  Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you have to move faster than God to attain His will for your life.

 

3. You don’t have to be smarter.

I have caught myself believing in the past that I needed to figure out what God was doing so I could be ready when He led me in a certain direction, but that’s exhausting, and God never asked for me to live that way.  In fact, He has made it so that we have to rely on Him in every single moment.  While I believe my heart was in the right place before, I now know that the Lord will show me what I need to know in time.  I can rest!  I don’t need to rack my brain so I can align myself with His will – He loves me enough to do that Himself!  He knows if the desire of your heart is to be where He wants, your brain doesn’t have to get there before He takes you there.  He will lead you as long as you stay close to Him.  It’s more exciting when He surprises you anyway.  🙂  Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you have to be smarter than God to attain His will for your life.

 

Please recognize that all three of these thought processes are a twisted way of thinking you can earn God’s love and blessings.  THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE.  Nothing you or anyone else can do can ever SEPARATE you from the love of God in Christ Jesus because of what HE did, not what you’ve done!

 

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39

 

He literally died for you to give you an abundant life in Him.

 

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” – Romans 8:32

 

Working harder, moving faster, and being smarter creates a sort of rat race of Christianity – making you think that you can attain the perfect circumstances to receive what God has for you…but that’s not biblical, and that’s not God’s heart.

 

If you think that you need to work harder, move faster, be smarter in order to attain God’s will for your life, you’re actually putting WAY more pressure on yourself than is required, and selling God’s goodness and power so short.

 

“He refreshes my soul, He guides me along the right paths for His Name’s sake.” – Psalm 23:3

 

The Lord is SO good – His goodness doesn’t hinge on whether you are doing well enough or not.  He is guiding you on the right path for HIS Name’s sake – and He does not change.  So, for those of us who love God and want to obey Him in everything, but haven’t seen things He has spoken come to pass yet – this does not mean you are in the wrong place or you’re not working hard, fast, or smart enough!  It could just be that your old expectations of how God is working in your life need to be put to death (for more on this, read my last blog, A Thousand Daily Deaths).  No matter what the reason is, you’re not going to miss what He has for you.  You’re just in process. 🙂

 

Blog Pic: Rosie De La Cruz killin’ it with the Seasons EP photography!  Check her out on rdelacruzin.us , Instagram, or Facebook!