Is there ever a time when you can have too much hope? I think not! Although, I do think there are times, when we can make what we want (i.e. what we are hoping for) so much of a priority, that we don't stop and pause to pray and genuinely give our hope to the Lord and seek His will. Often times we get our heart set on something or we desire a specific outcome that we forget to seek God's will. Then when the expected outcome doesn't happen the way we planned (hoped for), we are angry at God or we wonder, what is God doing?
Sometimes our ears are full of wax (wax that we have carefully placed inside our ears). We choose not to listen to the Lord. Sometimes we ignore the closed doors. You know, the ones you specifically asked the Lord to obviously open and close. The ones we keep pounding and sometimes kick open. God will allow us to force it open. I know I am guilty of forcing a few doors open myself. I have considered praying that the Lord make it obvious by open and closed doors; and if it's a closed door, I pray it will be a steel door that is bolted with several super strength locks, that will forbid me to force it open (ha ha-I am only half joking on this one!).
I have a friend who is in a financial situation that has put her in a position that she must move. This decision was not made lightly. I know she has been praying for a long time for God to make obvious open and closed doors, specifically with her job and finances. She confessed to me recently that she feels the Lord has been trying to tell her to move for a while and that she is missing out on His next plan for her life. She has hung on to what she has wanted and now she has come to a point of complete exhaustion. I know my friend was not being intentionally disobedient to the Lord, she was praying for God's will to be done and for open and closed doors, however she now admits she sees that she had been forcing doors open.
When we pray for God's will to be done along with open and closed doors, it is important that when we find a closed door that we do not continue to stand at the door and knock (it's closed; no one will ever answer it, and we will have wasted a lot of time and energy standing and knocking) It is also in our best interest not to try to force the door open or worse yet, kick it in with sheer determination. The Lord will allow us our free will to choose (or force) a door open, even if His perfect will is to have it closed. That is the double edged sword when it comes to free will. We have a choice.
We will never be able to walk in full confidence of God's will for our life if we are not walking daily with the Lord. That is His desire, He wants a relationship with us. He wants us to choose Him. He wants to give us our hearts desires when we are walking in His will. Sometimes it can be a fine or difficult line trying to find the difference in our will (hope) and God's will (hope) for our life, however, God is a God of grace and mercy and if we are truly seeking His will we will ultimately get there. He wants us to desire His will for our lives. And praise God, He is loves us in spite of our stubborn strong will!
pray without ceasing 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
Discernment,wisdom,only comes from spending time with the Master. Praise God!
ReplyDeleteI'll never forget a time when I tried to force open a door. I wanted to attend a particular school and wiggled my way in. It ended up costing hundreds of dollars before I realized it wasn't where I was suppose to be. Then I transferred to a different school. But that's a lesson that will always stay with me. Thanks for sharing your wisdom, Sheryl!
ReplyDeleteIt is so hard for us to place our confidence in things unseen. Putting faith in what we "KNOW" God is saying to us sometimes feels like we are jumping off of a cliff with no safety net.
ReplyDelete