Panicking on the Plan (John 16:12-15, Part 2)

STOP
If you have not already done so, read:
 "You Think You Wanna Know...But You Not Ready (John 16:12-15)
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But of course, it does not feel like that all the time, and our frustration turns in to shear panic!  We PANIC ABOUT THE PLAN!  All we think about is what's going wrong.  The little things in life start to feel like big waves.  We start to scurry around like the disciples on the Sea of Galilee, saying "Lord Jesus, WHERE ARE YOU, I'm OVERWHELMED!" The disciples began saying, "Go get Jesus! He's in the back sleeping!"  And, Jesus comes out like... "What is the big deal?"

We treat God like that don't we?  We get to the point where everything is going wrong, and we think, "God has GOT to be somewhere sleeping on the job".  I KNOW YOU SEE THESE STORMS AND WAVES ABOUT TO TAKE ME UNDER! Well..WHAT storms and waves?  Are they really there, or did you create them from all of your panicking?  I guess in the moment, the answer to that question doesn't make a difference, because all you know is that they are going to take you under.

And, God (laughing of course) responds, "If I wanted those waves to take you under, don't you think they would have you by now?  Water moves fast, ASK PHARAOH!  And is it not true that even if I let those waves engulf you, am I not the ONLY ONE who can bring you out?  Did I NOT tell you that I would NEVER LEAVE  NOR FORSAKE you?  So, why then are you treating me like I'm the slow one?  YOU SLOW!"

I'm making a vow RIGHT NOW to stop panicking about what God has planned for my life.  He said, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye" (Psalm 32:8).  And that's what I want.  I want to go in the direction that HE wants me to go in.  And when I get there, I won't have to worry about if I can do it, because He said that he is going to TEACH ME, and PLACE ME THERE!  That means if I end up doing something that He did not guide me to, I probably won't even know what do when I get there anyway!! And then I'm not going to want to see it through, because it was not for me.  BUT, Philippians 1:6 say, "He who has begun a good work in you, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ". So let me STOP trying to guide myself with MY EYE, and let Him guide me with HIS EYE, so that not only will I:

BE IN THE RIGHT PLACE, I will KNOW MY PLACE, and I will STAY IN MY PLACE! 

*I know that last part turned into something else, but I was on a roll!!

You Think You Wanna Know...But You Not Ready! John 16:12-15

Frustration.  That's the word that sums up how we may feel when we are not getting answers to the questions that we have prayed for.  Of course, as I write this, I can think of many other words to describe this feeling, but we'll stick with that one. I personally have found myself BEGGING for answers.  I mean praying hard enough that it no longer sounds like prayer, it sounds like pleading.  (*Note: I'll have to ask my pastor what's the difference, and is it wrong in some way?)
Right now, for me it's THE PLAN!  I can see my hands literally shaking in frustration, "LORD WHAT IS THE PLAN?" And He's looking at me saying: "First, who do you think you are talking to?  Did you just raise your voice at ME? I know you are frustrated and all, but you better watch that tone!" :)       

And THE PLAN is everything.  From what I should be doing with my life, can I be doing more to please Him?  What about those things I've asked to be revealed to me? The blessings?  The answers to those questions I've asked.  When I read John 16:12, when Jesus was preparing the disciples...it hit me.  The verses read:

¹² “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. ¹³ But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. ¹⁵ All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”


What if He is simply saying, "I could tell you, but YOU'RE NOT READY! I can't give it all to you RIGHT NOW! And now that I'm typing this, I can also hear Him saying, "What do you think I'm going to do, forget?!"

The scripture says He will GUIDE YOU into truth, and TELL YOU what is YET TO COME! That means that even in my UNKNOWING,  I ALREADY KNOW, because HE KNOWS!!

That feels good!  Ok...let me stop right here because this is turning into a PART 2: Panicking on the Plan! Jump there now!

     

Finding my Piece/Peace Luke 15:8-10

I figured I should post my most current "revelation" while in the Word this morning as a starting post after The Secret Place.  While searching for another verse in Luke, I ran across Luke 15:8-10.  I admit that I certainly had never read this verse, but it spoke to me in so many ways, I instantly began to write.  I came up with so many different titles including:

• The ONE THING that Stole My Joy! (of course I would be negative Nancy first..not today Satan)
• Rejoice Together!!
• I Have Found the Piece/Peace which I Lost!
• Let Me Be the ONE REPENTING SINNER, I Want to Rejoice!

just to name a few.  (Now I see how preachers can get at least three Sundays worth of message from two versus!!)  So here's the verses:

⁸ “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ ¹⁰ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

"WOW", I thought.  Oh how long I kept the light on and "swept" my house looking for that precious piece/peace.  I looked EVERYWHERE!  I called on friends, but it certainly wasn't to rejoice, it was to complain about not being able to find it.  I was MAD!  Because I never felt like I had LOST my piece/peace, I just KNEW someone or something had STOLEN IT!  Or...did I GIVE it away?  The hurt, confusion, and anger of it not being there certainly trumped the thoughts of how happy I would be when I found it!  And "search carefully?"...PLEASE!!  I turned my house and my world upside down looking for it. Soon, the mess was too much for me to bear, and I gave up looking for it all together.  I let people and situations into my life that I thought could replace it, most of whom didn't even know what IT was, let alone replace it, nor did they have the power or desire to do so.  This went on for YEARS and YEARS!!  Can you imagine how many lanterns, brooms, and false findings that would bring, and the toll searching was having on my life?  I missed blessings, I missed opportunities, I missed time with my family and friends, I missed...ME!

Then, finally the day came when I at least came into a place that I could settle myself, start over, and begin looking for my piece/peace.  It was the day I started to attend church.  I knew it wasn't time to call my friends and neighbors to rejoice with me, because the only thing I did was strategically searched as opposed to ransacking my world.  BUT OHH....the day I JOINED church...that was the day I FOUND my piece/peace.  I didn't find it on my own...I HAD HELP!  God the Father, Jesus the Son, the Holy Spirit, my new pastor, my new church family, certain friends and family all became lights and brooms in my life.  And you better believe I was calling ALL my friends, family, and neighbors to let them know I found my piece/peace and they could now REJOICE with me!.  The moment I went to that alter, confessed my sins and my belief in the resurrection, and asked for forgiveness, I knew my life would never be the same.  I could finally stop searching for my piece/peace. 

I can hear Jesus chuckling right now even as I write (he does have a sense of humor, ya know..), "Princess (that's his name for me)... I AM THE PRINCE OF PEACE.  As long as you remember where I AM, right with you, you will NEVER search for this piece/peace again.

Well, I BELIEVE you Daddy! Better late than never.

     

Coming up:

"Loosed in the Fire" Reflections after reading Daniel 3

"Girl, You Ain't Ready" Reflections after reading John 16: 12-15    

The Secret Place of the Most High

I wrote this poem years ago after reading one of my favorite Bible verses, Psalm 91.  It's a reflection of how I feel when I'm in my Secret Place with the Most High.  What does your secret place look like?  How do you feel in your secret place when you are with Him? 

The Secret Place of the Most High

When I feel life is out of control

And this whole world is passing me by

I find refuge and solace

In the Secret Place of the Most High

Welcomed, comforted, unconditionally loved

No hote or rejection shown

I arrive in total solitude

Alone but not alone

In the Secret Place I can cry all day
Or laugh until I do the same
And if I do both at the same time
My host doesn't think I'm insane

And when the day is done

The Most High rocks me slowly to sleep

He's never broken His sacred promise

My soul He said He'll keep

So when you feel you can't go on

And would rather lay down and die

You too can find peace and rest, in

The Secret Place of the Most High