Monday, November 4, 2013

When you don't know what to do

When life is puzzling and we don't know what to do
Photo credit:  Cindee Snider Re

I may have made this look way easier than it seems.  Perhaps I have mislead you.

Stepping out on faith should be easy, but rarely ever is.  Our minds get in the way of our hearts.  I wonder if the Bible greats like Noah, Moses, David, Paul, the many major and minor prophets, went through the same logical thought processes.

I would like to think so.  They made it look easy.

I have to wonder in my heart, with all of my girl logic, if they too struggled a bit.

Don't we want to know what to do next?  Don't we all have an innate need for information?  Do you pray for divine understanding and wisdom?

We are curious by nature.  And it's our very human nature of seeking, wondering, dreaming...that possibly gets us into conflicts between our hearts and minds.

It's the simple human conundrum I like to call it.  The depravity of humanity.  Okay, that might be a bit drastic to put my own understanding about life on a global scale of the world's deepest pondering of all time.

When making big decisions, we pray, we ask others to pray, we seek God's wisdom, we read, we research, we make those comprehensive pros vs. cons list, we discuss and discuss again, we gather as much information as possible to bring all the facts and figures together to make the most sound decision our brains can possibly make.

And then ...I pray some more.

I have a tendency to overcompensate in the prayer department.  Most times I don't think I have the brain power to actually sort through any big decision that might be facing me at any given time.  So I quickly pass it off to God and the Holy Spirit take control of my perfect prayer needs, to be said by the only Perfect voice, to receive His perfect answer.  I also let Jesus comfort me in my waiting.

At least this is how I do it until God shows me a better way.

When we have those big hurdles, struggles, battles, decisions, whatever comes across our daily screens of life, prayer should be the foundation in which you start your holy conversations with God.

It should be.  For me I don't leave it there.  I have to write down what I hear.  I have to record my thoughts and then pray through those.  I have to let my thoughts pass through God's filter of perfect understanding.

How do you do it?

Whatever your process, it's just that.... yours.  Use it.  Pray it.  Obey it.

It's a process to lay out what's on our heart and mind before God to seek His best answers, solutions, and direction.  Have you ever thought how God allows His heart and mind to be approachable?  This gives us an incredible and an awesome opportunity to have moment by moment conversations with the Controller of the Universe, about your world, in your daily life, to the One who is working FOR you not against you.

I will always run to the Source of all Knowledge.

But there are times when we make it way harder than it needs to be.

"I know what the answer is, it's really very simple."  Have you ever caught yourself saying that?

I have.  The reality is that you understand.  What you know about God so far is really quite mind blowing when it comes to discerning what decisions need to be made.

It comes down to one simple thing to do when you don't know what to do.

Obey God.

Simply put, isn't that what most decisions should be based on?

Obedience.

When I find myself in the constant decision making process, in all actuality, I shouldn't allow my logic to wonder.  I should be applying the truth I find in God's Holy Word, the wisdom expressed by our Holy Creator, to my current situation.

Once I do that, my load becomes lighter, less cumbersome, less weighty.  When I take my logic out of the equation it leaves more room for His truth and love to come into my examination list, those endless pros and con lists.

It becomes simple at that point.  Most days.

Oh our humanity, when we let our own understanding hinder our obedience.

Seeking God and turning the decision over to the Holy Spirit to pray for perfect peace will not only be my course of action for those life threatening diagnosis delivered, major career moves, or about other "big-gun" requests. Finding God's wisdom padded with His perfect peace should be the first and only thing we do when setting out to understand when we don't know what to do.

God will tell  you what you should do when you ask Him what you should do.  Will you listen to when He tells you what to do?

That's another part of this knowing part...isn't it?  We should listen to what God's answers are.  Is it more that we don't want to hear God's voice in the middle of our logic?

Ask.Seek.Listen.

Things become perfectly clear when you ask the Perfect to speak to your heart.  When you get the answers then let Perfect speak to your understanding.  Then....act on what you know and believe.

Do what you know is simple and pleasing to God.

Obey.  Let this authentic melody float in your heart.  Perfect Peace comes...

"Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey."




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