One of the realization's I've had is that my life runs best when I get in line with God's plan for my life.
I find there's three ways of running your life.
Doing it MY Way:
This is of course a very popular option, especially in today's day and age of independent, agnostic, thinking. It also feeds one's pride and ego to say, 'I did it - myyyyyy wayyyy'. I certainly was a follower of this phylosophy myself up until late last year.
The reason I eventually abandoned it was because despite all the new age gurus, success secrets, books, seminars, programs and coaching I took in, I still fell into the same trappings that Paul did when he said, 'For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.' ~ Romans 7:19
Knowing what I should do, even knowing the driving internal forces that caused me not to do those things I should do, did not ultimately enable me to do the things I knew I should be doing. Instead I did stuff that was 'good' and 'fun' but never really fulfilled me. They weren't the 'right' actions. Often, I didn't even know what the real 'right' action should be.
There's a difference between doing 'good' actions and 'right' actions. For example, Jesus could have become a priest, or choose to live to an old age tending to the sick. Those certainly would have been 'good' actions but they weren't the 'right' one. Jesus choose not to do what might seem good to him but instead what seemed good to God the father.
My problem, is my mind is pretty limited. Not to suggest I have a low IQ, I don't, but that I'm always swayed to do the easy and immediately rewarding thing. Despite whatever resolve I might muster to endure long term hardship for long term victory, my will ebbed and I'd start wanting self-gratification of easy 'wins' or at least, a distraction from the pain of 'doing' without seeing results.
So instead of taking 'right' actions, I do 'good' things I think I should be/feel rewarded for but often don't really. Whenever this is my primary way of operating, I find life to somehow be less than fulfilling.
Doing it MAN's Way:
That is doing what your boss thinks you should be doing. Or following what your parents think you should be doing with your life. Or letting your spouse determine your actions. Or your kids, or social peers, or your religious edict, or society as a whole.
Everyone has an opinion on how you should be conducting your life. Opinions are the cheapest form of currency out there. Everyone has them. Trouble is, few people even do the things they think they themselves should be doing. Even fewer are inline with God's plan doing the 'right' things that really build their life and bring true joy.
Doing things to please others might give us a sense of acceptence but it doesn't fulfill. We find we are doing things that just don't hold any real meaning for ourselves. We're people pleasing, pure and simple. What's worse is that people don't all agree. So no matter what you do, you can't please all the people all the time. No matter how hard you try you will still feel let down because someone will still feel you're doing it 'wrong'.
Doing it GOD's Way:
At this point in my life, I've determined to give up on doing it My Way and Man's Way and am committed to living my life according to what God would have me do.
Whenever I'm in line with God's plan, things simply work. I meet the right people, people have a change of heart in my favour, things just work out in my favour. I feel like a regular Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow is a current NFL sensation who is generally considered to have enjoyed the bulk of his success through dumb luck - or devine faith (he's a devote Christian) - depending on who you ask.
Just this week Tebow threw a questionable but ruled acceptable pass that resulted in an 80 yard rush and touchdown, giving his team a much needed overtime win (in a mere 11 seconds of play) to get into the playoffs. That has certainly been the reality for me as well when I'm living in accordance to God's plan for my life. It might look like there's no way, and MAN and ME might agree on that - it's just not possible - but when I do it anyway, in faith, somehow it works out in my favour.
The question then becomes; how do you know what God's plan for your life is? That is one I struggle with every day. However, ultimately I do it the same way Jesus and everyone who came after him did it. Through lots of prayer and fasting. For myself, I find meditation can be very helpful in getting 'connected' as well.
However, there's no guarantee. Sometimes I feel God very powerfully and actively and it's clear what I should do. Other times it's just a hunch. Other times, despite how much I may be praying, I'm just not feeling connected and feel like I'm floating aimlessly. However, God has, time and again, given me three pillars to live by - to lead, to love and to write/speak. So when I'm not getting any feedback from the holy spirit, I'm doing my best to live up to those pillars. Eventually, I find the spirit will nudge me here or there or speak through me in my writing. It takes some attunement and I have to be sure to take time out to just be with God, even if I not feeling like I'm hearing Him, to stay attuned.
I could write an entire book on this subject (might do that someday) but there's many already out there for those of you who want more guidence on being lead by the spirit.
Preston Squire
I find there's three ways of running your life.
Doing it MY Way:
This is of course a very popular option, especially in today's day and age of independent, agnostic, thinking. It also feeds one's pride and ego to say, 'I did it - myyyyyy wayyyy'. I certainly was a follower of this phylosophy myself up until late last year.
The reason I eventually abandoned it was because despite all the new age gurus, success secrets, books, seminars, programs and coaching I took in, I still fell into the same trappings that Paul did when he said, 'For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.' ~ Romans 7:19
Knowing what I should do, even knowing the driving internal forces that caused me not to do those things I should do, did not ultimately enable me to do the things I knew I should be doing. Instead I did stuff that was 'good' and 'fun' but never really fulfilled me. They weren't the 'right' actions. Often, I didn't even know what the real 'right' action should be.
There's a difference between doing 'good' actions and 'right' actions. For example, Jesus could have become a priest, or choose to live to an old age tending to the sick. Those certainly would have been 'good' actions but they weren't the 'right' one. Jesus choose not to do what might seem good to him but instead what seemed good to God the father.
My problem, is my mind is pretty limited. Not to suggest I have a low IQ, I don't, but that I'm always swayed to do the easy and immediately rewarding thing. Despite whatever resolve I might muster to endure long term hardship for long term victory, my will ebbed and I'd start wanting self-gratification of easy 'wins' or at least, a distraction from the pain of 'doing' without seeing results.
So instead of taking 'right' actions, I do 'good' things I think I should be/feel rewarded for but often don't really. Whenever this is my primary way of operating, I find life to somehow be less than fulfilling.
Doing it MAN's Way:
That is doing what your boss thinks you should be doing. Or following what your parents think you should be doing with your life. Or letting your spouse determine your actions. Or your kids, or social peers, or your religious edict, or society as a whole.
Everyone has an opinion on how you should be conducting your life. Opinions are the cheapest form of currency out there. Everyone has them. Trouble is, few people even do the things they think they themselves should be doing. Even fewer are inline with God's plan doing the 'right' things that really build their life and bring true joy.
Doing things to please others might give us a sense of acceptence but it doesn't fulfill. We find we are doing things that just don't hold any real meaning for ourselves. We're people pleasing, pure and simple. What's worse is that people don't all agree. So no matter what you do, you can't please all the people all the time. No matter how hard you try you will still feel let down because someone will still feel you're doing it 'wrong'.
Doing it GOD's Way:
At this point in my life, I've determined to give up on doing it My Way and Man's Way and am committed to living my life according to what God would have me do.
Whenever I'm in line with God's plan, things simply work. I meet the right people, people have a change of heart in my favour, things just work out in my favour. I feel like a regular Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow is a current NFL sensation who is generally considered to have enjoyed the bulk of his success through dumb luck - or devine faith (he's a devote Christian) - depending on who you ask.
Just this week Tebow threw a questionable but ruled acceptable pass that resulted in an 80 yard rush and touchdown, giving his team a much needed overtime win (in a mere 11 seconds of play) to get into the playoffs. That has certainly been the reality for me as well when I'm living in accordance to God's plan for my life. It might look like there's no way, and MAN and ME might agree on that - it's just not possible - but when I do it anyway, in faith, somehow it works out in my favour.
The question then becomes; how do you know what God's plan for your life is? That is one I struggle with every day. However, ultimately I do it the same way Jesus and everyone who came after him did it. Through lots of prayer and fasting. For myself, I find meditation can be very helpful in getting 'connected' as well.
However, there's no guarantee. Sometimes I feel God very powerfully and actively and it's clear what I should do. Other times it's just a hunch. Other times, despite how much I may be praying, I'm just not feeling connected and feel like I'm floating aimlessly. However, God has, time and again, given me three pillars to live by - to lead, to love and to write/speak. So when I'm not getting any feedback from the holy spirit, I'm doing my best to live up to those pillars. Eventually, I find the spirit will nudge me here or there or speak through me in my writing. It takes some attunement and I have to be sure to take time out to just be with God, even if I not feeling like I'm hearing Him, to stay attuned.
I could write an entire book on this subject (might do that someday) but there's many already out there for those of you who want more guidence on being lead by the spirit.
Preston Squire
I am having this problem at the moment, I feel lost I pry and fast about what I should do for a career. But I still don't know if its my own thoughts or what god wants me to do.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I usually know it's God's will when it's something that is foreign to my line of thinking. That is to say, a NEW thought will pop into my head that feels right but is most often something I'd really rather not be doing - because it's out of my comfort zone.
DeleteFor example, I've recently taken a package to leave my safe, secure job of 10+ years on the prompting of the Holy Spirit. This is not my modus operandi. My normal way is to continue trying to build a business while I keep my safe secure job. I mean that's only reasonable right? Problem is, I'll never be FULLY committed to doing what God's called me to do (write) if I know I have my existing job to fall back on. I'm not truly operating in FAITH. I'm just dabbing my toe in the water, wading in, deciding it's cold, wading out, repeat. A mustard seed (of faith) might be small, but once planted it isn't kinda committed to growing into a tree. It's 100% committed. That's it's sole existence. So while I'll get a nice payout my sole existence going forward will depend on writing/publishing and acting. The fields where God's gifted me but aren't typically 'steady' work.
I can't say what YOU should be doing. But if I think I'm hearing God but I'm not clear, I'll ask God for some confirmation on that instruction. Usually that comes within a few days (of continual prayer for clarity) via Pastor's sermon, via unsolicited comments from people I respect/trust, via unsought for bible passage. Basically it finds me somehow and is usually pretty clear (and usually gives me one of those sinking feelings because now I know I should be doing what I don't want to do but at the same time a sense of peace about it). So for me those are usually the signs it's God. It's NOT what I would do left to my own devices and it's confirmed.
I pray you'll find your path promptly. Would love to know how it ultimately works out.
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