There was an absolutely beautiful post on my happy little life today. I just love Kelly's blog.
Her post, which you need to read first, is right where my thoughts have been lately. Getting older and what to do with your life.
I have a question for each of you. One that I constantly struggle with and re-think.
Where is the line between pursuing your passions and accomplishing God's will for your life?
What I mean by that is...are you supposed to "follow your dreams" like so many people say you should or do you quietly wait for the plan that God has for you? Is it possible that you can do both at the same time. What if your dreams/passions aren't what He wants your life to be about? Or do you have those passions because He has given them to you to accomplish here on earth? How do you know that difference?
I have more thoughts on this, but I'd love to hear from you. If you would like to, leave a comment and share your thoughts. I'll wait a couple days and then come back to this whole thing. I can't wait to hear from you.....
October 13, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
when i have thought about this (because i have) i think of psalm 37:4 "delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."
i know that isn't really an answer, but when you were talking about your passions, it came to mind :)
i think God's will is more about how we live our life and how we behave than WHAT we choose to do. i'm a concrete, literal person. therefore i have trouble with the concept of a specific detailed will for my life floating around out there in the ether with no way to find it.
there is no book of Stephanie in the bible that i can read to find out exactly what i'm supposed to do with my life. and God does not speak to me audibly. and the promtings of my heart are from God when they line up with His values. all i have is my brain, my heart and my knowledge of God and how He wants me to live my life to guide me. outside of those things i cannot determine His will. No matter how thoroughly i read the bible i'm never going to come across a verse that says "in your 33rd year Stephanie you must go back to school to be a teacher, thus saith the Lord". my pastor preached an EXCELLENT sermon on the will of God a few weeks ago. it was the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE a sermon like that was presented in a way i could understand. i struggled the entire time i was at LU about this very issue...and i was praising the Lord for bringing me to this particular church. i think i've finally found something that i can understand. i'll scrounge up my notes and send them to you in an email. you can let me know what you agree/disagree with :)
I hope today is going better for you. I wanted to post yesterday to your comments on the Will of God but I had to think for a while on what I wanted to say. In my 20’s I really struggled with what was His will for me. At LU I thought I knew…. be a teacher. Then I got married and had no college degree but needed a job. I got my license to sell insurance and did that for a while. Then I went back to school and got my Paramedic license and did that for a while. During this time I was going through all my infertility treatments and that is a whole ‘nother struggle with the will of God. I decided to go back to school to get my RN. To me the grass was always greener on the other side. I started school but had to stop due to bed rest with my triplet pregnancy. See I do believe when we are seeking Him He will step in to guide us…sometimes we don’t even realize. During my infertility I wanted a baby right then. Five years later when I held my babies I knew His time was right. My marriage wouldn’t survive triplets only 3 years in to it. We needed that time before the babies came.
After the babies were born I had one choice given to me and that was to stay home with my babies. I changed during that time. My wants and needs for life were molded by the hand of God. It was a gentle thing but I know it was His work. How do I know this my heart for Him changed? I didn’t even know it was happening.
Right now in my life I know I’m were he wants me. I’m homeschooling my girls. I love every minute of it. Would I like to have free time for myself? Yes, but would I trade the innocents of my girls for that, NO. God did not write on my wall one morning, “you will homeschool!” It was a choice I freely made. I know it was His will. He gave me a choice. I could send them to public school or private. I could go back to work because I did finish college this past year. One day I was holding my small girls and I knew I would stay home with them. I knew it was the right thing to do. It was not going to be easy and I knew that but I felt peace in knowing that I was doing with my children what He wanted me to do.
He gave all of us a free will. We can choose for ourselves. The most important choice is Him. Once we do that and spend time in His word we will see the wisdom he has given us to guide us today. Believe me some days I wonder if I’m doing the right thing. But then I see all that He has done and is doing in my life and the hearts of my children and I know.
Sorry I did not mean to write a book. :) I have to agree with tp and the verse from Psalm 37:4! If you are seeking him and striving to do His will it will be your passion.
I find great confirmation in "the peace that passes all understanding." If you have peace about it, then it is right. I think we tend to over think and over complicate things. Sometimes, we think that if it feels good and enjoyable, it can't possibly be right. But I disagree. I believe God give blessings to those who are obedient....and that is you my friend. He has blessed you with many talents and I think He wants you to use them for His honor and glory in a way ONLY YOU can.
Post a Comment