Seeking God

I read a devotional this morning that hit pretty close to home.  It talked about how we sometimes think God is like santa claus and we expect Him to drop blessings into our lap.  That is generally not the case.  If we are seeking God’s will, there will be opposition.  Satan tries to be against us, however Romans 8:21 tells us that if God is for us, who can be against us.  The battle is already won and that is so easy to forget.  Satan is going to oppose us and try to block us from doing anything that draws us and others closer to God. 

The Israelites had to fight for the Promised Land, God did not just clear the way for them.  To be exact, they had to fight 31 kings and 7 nations before they could possess the Promised Land.  God does not protect us from the battle or from the opposition, but He will equip us to push through it and come out the other side.  The challenge is to be grounded in God’s word and follow where He leads.  Opposition is hard, but God will empower us.  The final line in today’s devotional sums the thought up – what you become in the process is often more valuable than what you become on the other side. 

Did you catch that?   What you become in the process is often more valuable than what you become on the other side.

Opposition builds character and I am learning that I really need to seek God more than ever right now.  I see 3 options for opposition, 1) throw my hands up and walk, 2) fight for every little issue, 3) seek the Lord and discern what is important, what is worth sticking it out for and what needs to be let go of.

 The first 2 options are easy and take very little thought, make a single decision and get on with it.  The last one is where the character building occurs, I think. That’s where we need to live, focused on God, following where He leads.

I wish I could give the source of the devotional, my church made a daily devotional and it is comprised of several different sources.  It’s interesting how relevant it is on many days.  I have heard others comment on it’s relevance to each person’s circumstances.   

So, hang in there and see where it is that God is leading you, even when it gets hard and things change.  God’s ways are not my ways, God’s plans are not my plans and where God leads me is way bigger than anything I could dream up on my own.

By the way, this might be more for me than anyone else, so maybe it’s self-therapy.  I guess that’s what you get when you have your own blog, a built in sounding board.  God is slowly opening my eyes to what lies ahead, just not too far ahead.  As soon as I think I have it all figured out, He throws a kink into it that changes everything.