The Appointment
Would You show me the Way?
Well, a lot happened over the last few days. A month has swept fast quite quickly, but my hands were quite full.A lot of things happened throughout these days, a lot of times where I heard the profound voice of my Master.
Maybe that’s why God sometimes just gives us instructions and a promise and asks us to get going. When we try to find an explanation, at this level. We wont find it, and even if we do find one, we would still be clueless.
But what we can do is to trust and obey. And follow his directions immaterial of whether we understand it or not. God does not go to the details not because he wants to show off His bossy attitude, but because we don’t have the capacity to understand it. When we continue in this wonderful journey with our Master, slowly but gloriously we will begin to understand the reason for His ways.
Level II – Teaching
Well, this is not the way our Master teaches. He actually does not go to the next lesson until we have learnt the previous one completely well. Many of us get stuck in our lives, primarily because we refuse to learn our lessons. The moment we listen to our Master’s Voice in every circumstance of our life and learn what He has to teach us, we would be progressing everyday.
But our problem is that we are either too busy to listen to His voice, or too spiritual confessing victory that we fail to learn what God wants to teach.
James 1 : 2-5
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
God asks his children to consider every trial as an opportunity for joy[NLT]. Because He plans a perfect lesson in the midst of each of those tough times. These lessons are taught by ‘faith-testing’ exercises and completing them require perseverance. On finishing each of these lessons, we attain a new level of maturity, A higher level of relationship with our God.
In order to understand and implement these lessons we need quite a lot of wisdom and understanding, that God promises to give in generous dosage. However we are busy praying for deliverance instead of asking God for wisdom to understand His teaching.
One of the most exciting levels of God’s guidance is the part where he teaches us.The more we learn, the more rewarding journey becomes. We begin to see things with more clarity and make decisions with definite direction and discretion.
Level – III – Counsel
We think that if God leads us then our path will be ‘fault proof’. I wish it were that way, but God just does not work like that. He does not believe in military discipline, He is a perfectionist but allows us to make our own mistakes and attain perfection in our pace but in His time.
This level of guidance called His Counsel helps us out when we really mess up somewhere. He does not stand there with crossed arms accusing you like the rest of the whole world, but shows you a way out in a place where you least expect.
We are so afraid of making mistakes that we do not step out at all. Mistakes are maybe not part of religion, but they are definitely part of relationship. God knows that, and that is why in His way of guidance He has made provision for counsel. To guide us out of any mess that we may get into.
Job 12:13
To God belong wisdom and power;counsel and understanding are his.
Don’t be afraid of taking your messes to God. If we follow His counsel, He can make glorious things come forth out of our mistakes.But if we are going to regret and condemn ourselves living out of guilt and self pity, our life would become a burden.
Level IV – Watches over me
God’s way of saying this is “with My eye upon you”. What God really means is that, God does not just give guidance and gets done with our life. He is always watching over us. He involves Himself in every small activity of our life, and loves it even more when we acknowledge Him in all our daily routines.
We really are never alone, God never leaves us that way. He is watching over each of our thought, emotion, and action. Not like a policeman, but as someone who wants to make sure that we get nothing lesser than the BEST.
When you are traveling alone, or awake working late hours at night , or in the midst of people among whom you look really small, or in the midst of a crisis all by yourself. Just pause!! BE still, and see WHO’s eye is on you.
May God’ s guidance be with you throughout your journey!!!
The red-purse
I was frantically searching for my money-purse today. Inspite, of my friends and parents reprimanding me, I have not yet learnt the habit of carrying it everywhere I go, so I usually lose track of where my purse is; but then., I’ve never lost it.I retrieve it when required.
The prepared path
Campus interviews.. the buzz word of the hour .India has become the second largest pool of engineering and software personnel in the world (17 million people by the end of 2008)*. Colleges and universities compete with each other to get their students to be recruited by the famous industry names. Every year they lure thousands of students into their colleges by flashing fat numbers of the percentage of students recruited and the compensation (ranging from 2.5 lakhs to 8 lakhs per annum) offered to them.At the beginning of the final year, the big names arrive, and when you get yourself into one of these names, a sense of achievement takes over.
I want to be a part of these big names too. I’d love to see my strengths unfold to action. I’d love to be actually being able to buy something and say ‘I bought it’. I’d love to say ‘I’m working in ———– as a ———— expert’. I’d love to see something actually being born out of my creativity. I’d loved to be called as an earning member of my family and be a part of supporting my selfless family. I’d be proud to put my own tithe offering in the church….
I’ll stop here and get captain imagination to come back to planet earth otherwise he’ll get you to think that I’m starting to get crazy.
God led me to make a commitment to Him when I was 15 years old and I drew my own path to fulfill that commitment. I worked on a strategy that seemed logical to me to accomplish the vision that God had in mind. I asked God to implement my plans so that I could effectively execute His vision. No prize for guessing!!!….I failed miserably. Maybe not ‘miserable’ in the way the world looks, but it crushed my spirit. I lost the passion that I had towards my commitment, and I started concentrating only on my ‘net worth’.
But for God, your net-worth means nothing; its your ‘self-worth’ that matters because the price He paid for that was the death of His Son. For everything else there’s ‘MASTER‘ card. No interest costs, No annual charges, No hidden costs, No operating costs!!! Totally funded by the ‘Treasury of the Almighty King’. So God began meticulously working on my self-worth, God used my crushed spirit to teach me about Him and about me. He showed me my life. He was refining me like a silversmith would refine silver, with utmost care, because He knew that if He left the silver in the flames for a little longer, it would be destroyed. God’s not finished yet.. but a part of His work stands complete; and I can see some of the sparkle.
Now when I stand in the threshold of yet another transition, suddenly my past haunts me. Though I’d learnt a lot of things that I’d never have learnt otherwise, the experience of being divorced from your dreams is rather painful. I love God with all my heart and I don’t want one thing to happen from my life that He does not approve of. He owns my life not once but twice; once when He created it and the second time was when He bought it by the blood of His Son. For a moment, I forgot that it was this painful experience that got me to enjoy a different level of relationship with God. My past took over and fear gripped me.
While I was brooding over this, and honestly opened up my heart to God, He spoke to me very clearly through a church sermon, “Do not consider the things of the past.. Behold I make all things new.” The voice of God spoke to my heart.
Usually when there is a promise the best strategy to see it work in your life is this.. “Obey the command preceding it and wait for the promise to unfold”. I’ve been obedient and now I’m waiting for God to open new paths so that I can fullfill my commitment and accomplish His vision. No heartbreaks this time!! because now its His plan and therefore His providence. Is this going to stop me from dreaming? Nope!! not all….. I have the freedom to dream provided I’ve given God the eraser and the pencil. Moreover, I can never have a dream that is better than God’s plan.
Maybe there’s something in your life too that’s coming back and discouraging you. Those were the flames God used to make you shine. The devil’s scheme is to make the memory of those flames to shame you and suck your energy and faith so that you won’t move forward. Get back.. God has unimaginably great things in store for His shining silver.
For all of you out there getting ready for a head start in your career…All the Best!! God be with you!
Isaiah 43:18-19
Do not [earnestly] remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing…
Malachi 3:3
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD, An offering in righteousness.