Choosing to Embrace

Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, therefore you will plant pleasant plants and set out foreign seedlings; in the day you will make your plant to grow, and in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; but the harvest will be a heap of ruins in the day of grief and desperate sorrow. Isaiah 17:10,11 (New King James Version)

Oh, the price we pay for having our focus and desires centered on anyone or anything other than God. All the substitutes we fill our life with (even apparent good ones) will eventually become a heap of ruins. We can busy ourselves with our own idea of what life should look like and in the end discover we have failed to receive what God intended for us. That is a stark reality God is presently revealing to me.

I took something to Him in prayer earlier this morning and within minutes He let me know the reason for my dissatisfaction and struggle. It boiled down to this one truth, I was not embracing the journey He had for me. While I wanted to be on the journey, I had a list of things I wanted but God was saying “no” to. I guess you could say I had my plants and seedlings all ready and felt they should be a part of the landscape of the pasture in which my Shepherd has placed me. I wanted an individual in my life that God had clearly removed, I wanted opportunities to serve Him that hadn’t materialized yet, I wanted circumstances to work out for a loved one where change was not forthcoming, and so on. While I would readily say, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” the “I shall not want” part was slow in coming. And then I wonder why it seems I can’t move forward and live with a sense of freedom? God was letting me know, the peace, contentment, joy, and fulfillment will come as I let go of my “wish list” and fully embrace what He has for me.

Part of the process for embracing the journey He has chosen for me is asking Him to show me what lies I am believing about Him. Where is it I still doubt Him? Where has my foundation of trust been damaged? What view of God needs to be aligned with truth once again? How easily I would settle for someone to just answer those questions for me. But God has wisely crossed my path with individuals who keep pointing me back to Himself. They know the joy and growth that will come as I seek to hear His voice on the matters. It is new for me but it is best!

Father, on my own I would not choose Your ways. My journey would look different and the results would be poor in comparison. Thank you for loving me enough to teach me the hard lessons of life. I yield to You. Amen.