Keep your eye on the Ball

Photo Credit 123RF.com

Sometimes things happen that seem right, perfect even…. and then, in a very short time, it becomes clear that it’s not.Then, we have to adjust accordingly, prayerfully, and try to be balanced as we adjust (i.e. don’t act totally impulsively, yet don’t wait to long to obey if you feel the Lord calling you to action).

This can be so very, very hard to do. And it can be painful too.

Yes, God is unchanging, but we are finite little creatures. We have our strengths, as well as our certain human limitations.

And yes, God can do anything through us that He chooses to do, as He is also unlimited. But sometimes, we can get so caught up in the attribute of perseverance (after all, that’s a good thing, right?) that we end up moving over into disobedience if we are being asked to do something that seems like “giving up.”

When this happens to us, and it becomes pretty clear after searching the Word and praying a lot, I feel it means that He is asking for us to submit even further -to let go of the “perseverance” mentaility – to surrender, folks.

Then He can work within what seems like a limitation, and cause us to go down a different path entirely. Funny thing is, this happens in His timing, not ours. And at first, it can seem illogical, or like an attack from the enemy. It can be utterly confusing at times.

Photo Credit 123RF.com

This is where I am at today…..

Over the last 72 hours, I have been squished and prodded to the point that my heart literally feels like it’s been twisted through a meat grinder. Didn’t this same thing just happen a couple of months ago, God? Did I make a mistake? Was I disobedient?

The answer is no. God showed me that He is going to give me choices sometimes that aren’t limited to one good choice, and one “bad” choice. Sometimes, there will be several options that are all good – but one might be better than the other.

The hard comes into play in the fact that I feel Him wanting to bring me into the best choice –  the hard comes into play in that we often don’t know what that best choice is until we get our feet wet and then realize “nope, this isn’t it.”

I don’t like that feeling much, do you? I don’t like letting others down when I find that a choice I made that involves them too, ends up not being right for me. It impacts them too.

God showed me this weekend that He is big enough to take care of them too – oh yah!

Duh.

Guess what? I have clarity now about moving out of the one choice and not knowing which thing to do next (again – sheesh). I have His peace, His joy, and His constant and reassuring presence – it’s been there underneath the tears that have been shed, and shed, and shed. It’s been there under and through the struggling, the prayer, the exposing of my inadequacies, vulnerabilities, the list goes on and on.

Part of what the Lord helped me to do these last couple of days is the following:

• Get the junk out – I had to compartmentalize the part of this that was an attack from the enemy so I could then deal with what was left. That was my blog post yesterday – the enemy and his stupid lies.
• Once that was done, I had the other part left. At first, I honestly didn’t know if the big blob of junk was all from the enemy or only in part. Once I took out what was from Satan, I was at first a bit disappointed to see there was, indeed, still a ball of stuff leftover to contend with. (I was secretly holding out the hope that it all was just a stupid attack that I could then stand up against and persevere against with the help of the Lord and others)
• That remaining ball of stuff is some hard truth, but it is from the Lord…I know this without question. Today and last night I have been dealing with that along with Him. After all, He is the One in charge here.
• I had help today too – and some of the other days. My dear husband helped me immensely. Also, we sought some good solid counsel at the church from our Assistant Pastor. He confirmed what I thought the “divine ball” of stuff was indeed in line with God’s will for where my priorities should be from here. We know this because a few of the things I had shared with my husband actually came out of his mouth when we talked and we hadn’t told him any of it yet.

Today, if you feel like the enemy is juggling you around, go ahead and allow the Lord to help you to call his little bluff. Grab the mighty hand of the Lord and stick it right smack in the middle of all the jiggly juggly balls  and cause the enemy to falter in his pristine and seemingly-faultless ability to continue juggling  and juggling away.

His games need to end – because he’s not only playing with you (that enemy), but with God, if you are one of God’s children!

I never really liked clowns and circuses much……..did you?

Think about keeping your eye on the right ball today – you should find it right inside of the One true Savior’s hand:  Jesus Christ. Master of All.

He isn’t clowning around, either.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Advertisement