IDENTITY CRISIS? - Do You Know Who You Really Are?

“A picture can paint a thousand words!” 

For many of us, there is always more going on than what meets the eye.  The old saying, "You can't judge a book by it's cover" is true!  Have you ever found yourself in a full-fledged identity crisis?  Or been in a situation or circumstance that made you question who you really are?  Is being true to yourself an on-going struggle? If your answer to any of these questions is "yes", I pray that you are challenged to look a little deeper.  

Now, what you have before you, Children of God, is a picture of a duck.  Nothing special; a duck is a duck right?  I mean if it looks like a duck, it must be a duck right?  Or is it...?

Necessary Endings

Have you ever waited for God's direction - you know, whether to go or stay? Change or not? Move or stay? Well, I have, and believe me it can be a most frustrating process!  Most of the time you're afraid of making a mistake: moving too soon; too slow; right place, wrong time or vice versa; or about whether you heard God at all!? It's mind boggling!

There is grace for God's wisdom and direction!

For one thing, whenever God does a new thing, He always tells us first. Is. 42:9.  He promises to guide us with His eye. He said, "I will lead you and guide you into all truth, and show you things that are to come."  But you're not going to see anything in the Bible that says, "You should quit today; or accept that new promotion," etc.  So how do we know?  How do we know when to move on?

I'm put in mind of the eagle, who begins to make the nest very uncomfortable for the baby eaglets when it's time for them to learn how to fly. God's ways often mimic this process when He wants to prompt us to move/shift.  I wasn't feeling confident about my ability to hear God and discern His timing. I wanted to know with absolute certainty, but I was afraid I would miss God. I cried out for wisdom and the courage to move.  God lead me to a special resource that helped me to operate in reality in terms of what was hindering me in executing a necessary ending:  the book, "Necessary Endings" by Dr. Henry Cloud.  (I highly recommend this resource as a valuable tool to assist you on your journey.)  In his book, Dr. Cloud speaks of the courage it takes to end a thing when it is no longer working or beneficial.  I drew immense strength, courage and wisdom and was empowered to do what I needed to do.

Weeks passed. Then something happened that I thought would surely weaken my resolve: the government shut-down.  Of course, my husband was affected, but by God's grace, we had leadership commissions due from our business that took us over the hump.  Not only that, this was only a temporary measure:  we would be at another political impasse in January, and could possibly find ourselves on financially unstable footing again!  I thought, "Now what, God?" How am I supposed to do this in the midst of all of this? 

The Lord told me this was going to be a step of faith. It was not going to be comfortable or safe, and I couldn't allow money to be the determining factor.  I could not walk by faith and by sight at the same time.

Sure enough, true to Himself, God spoke, and His direction was very clear.  Like the father eagle, He presented me with a set of circumstances that made it impossible for me to remain in my present condition.  I was able to see things clearly, as they really are and move to the point of executing a necessary ending.  He spoke clearly - you guessed it - just 2 weeks before the gov't shutdown!  Talk about timing! This was one of those situations where you have to decide if you're going to trust God or not!

I responded in obedience. God knows just what it takes to get us moving!  A most serious set of circumstances turned me upside down for a minute, but after fulfilling the responsibilities of my office, I had the release from God to go. I knew it was God because His peace bathed my spirit like a warm blanket.  Always let the peace of God rule in your heart.

Now, make no mistake: in my humanity I was afraid of the unknown; I think most of us would be; but I discovered that somewhere along the way my faith had been strengthened! My trust in God - for once - outweighed my fear.  God was speaking to me everyday!  The more He spoke the stronger and more confident in Him I felt.  I don't know what all God has in store; I do know His plans for me are good and not evil; I have a future and a hope, amen?

Eyes have not seen, nor ears heard what God has for me, but He will reveal it to me by His Spirit!
Necessary endings invite new beginnings!
Join me! It's going to be the adventure of a lifetime!!

God's Obstacle Course

I wanted to share something with my readers that has significantly changed my perspective on the challenges I'm facing in my life right now.  We've often heard it said that God doesn't put no more on us than what we can bear.  I'd like to challenge that way of thinking tonight. 

Obstacle courses are designed to build strength, endurance and character.  For example, in the military and sports, obstacle courses are designed to develop and prepare soldiers and athletes to endure strenuous physical activity.  Each part of the course is designed to develop a certain skill, endurance level and physical ability.  Pariticipants continue to chart the course until they've completed each section with timed precision. When they've mastered the course, they are deemed ready to fulfill their mission.  The obstacles are not intended to stop them from fulfilling the goal, but rather to ensure that they are fully capable of fulfilling the goal. 

God has designed an obstacle course tailored-made for me - and you.  Every challenge we face is uniquely designed to strengthen our character, promote growth and maturity, and to equip us to live the abundant life.  The obstacles come not to descourage or to destroy us, but to train us to get better and better each time we encounter one.

The idea is that each time we encounter a problem, to determine what is it that's preventing us from moving forward.  Once we identify the source of opposition, then we can begin to pray and ask God for wisdom to move around it.  You see, what usually happens is we encounter an obstacle and immediately we think we're doing the wrong thing - that we didn't hear God when things don't work out.  The truth is, when you run into an obstacle/opposition, it's most likely because you are doing the right thing, rather than the wrong thing.  Just because we meet with a challenge doesn't mean we're outside of the will of God.

If there is an obstacle that you seem to encounter over and over again, and you can't seem to get beyond it, then it's probably because you're not going about it the right way - perhaps not God's way.  There's probably a better way to do it.  Remember His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.  Ask God how you should go about it.

Instead of responding to obstacles with "I can't do it," let's ask the question, "How can I do it?"  Instead of "I don't have the money," ask "How can I get the money?"  Don't give up because something seems hard.  Let's keep our hands to the plow and not look back.  All things are possible with God!!