Question:
For those of you who have felt God's prompting you or telling you to do something, did it always turn out well? How did you know it was God? Have you ever stepped out in faith after spending weeks/months in prayer over something, on your face, crying, in scripture seeking direction and clarity? Have you ever moved/acted on in the direction you were sure is God's, and have it all crumble or fail?
What do you do then? How do you discern the voice of God from your own?For those of you who have felt God's prompting you or telling you to do something, did it always turn out well? How did you know it was God? Have you ever stepped out in faith after spending weeks/months in prayer over something, on your face, crying, in scripture seeking direction and clarity? Have you ever moved/acted on in the direction you were sure is God's, and have it all crumble or fail?
Answer:
The big question here is WHO decides if it turned out well or not?
I think even if you look at Biblical examples you'll see that they may not have thought things turned out well.
The first one that pops into my mind is Mary, the mother of Jesus. She had an angel visit her and so there probably wasn't a lot of doubt about if it was God or her own thoughts. That was probably really good because I can imagine, if it were me at least, how hard it would have been to see things were going well. For starters she had to be looked down on for getting pregnant outside of marriage. We're more forgiving for that these days than back then, and I can tell you from experience it isn't very easy. I deserved some trouble I guess, but she sure didn't. Then she raised this precious little boy. He grew in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man, right? So that part wasn't so bad. And then He entered His ministry. Some people loved Him and others hated Him. She must have been proud though. Then she watched as they crucified Him. I'm projecting my own thoughts on her here, but don't you think it's very possible that as she watched she thought something must have gone horribly wrong? This couldn't have been God's plan.
How about Moses? He saw a burning bush and heard the voice of the Lord audibly. And yet, he didn't think God had the right guy. But he goes to pharaoh and shows His signs and wonders and pharaoh makes the people work harder. Whoops. Could that really be what God had in mind? Even when they were able to leave Egypt, the people whined and complained. Moses had to have had moments of wondering if God really knew what He was doing.
Let's talk about Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God told him to build an ark. Noah obeyed. God gave him very detailed instructions and Noah obeyed. You think that was easy? Most likely everyone laughed at him. I would guess there were times Noah himself doubted if he was doing the right thing. How about when it started to rain and God shut the doors of the ark. I am just guessing here because the Bible doesn't say, but I imagine that there were people banging on the outside of the ark shouting that they are sorry and they believe now, begging to be let in. But it was too late and they received no mercy. That would be hard to listen to. There's probably a good reason GOD shut that door instead of leaving it to Noah. And quite possibly Noah didn't think things were working out very well in spite of the fact that he obeyed God.
How about Ezekiel. He went through all kinds of grief just obeying God. God had a difficult message to get to the people and Ezekiel was willing to be the one to give the message. It wasn't easy for him I bet. But he loved the Lord and obeyed anyway. Someone had to do it. Our reward isn't always given on this earth.
And Elijah. Wow. Just read about him -- even if you've read it before. 1 Kings 17. Seriously, get out your Bible and read this. It will be so worth your time. Amazing. You know, I always read about Elijah and thought about how faithful he was and that's all I saw. But recently I saw how incredibly hard this must have all been for him. Like when God sent him off to the wilderness and had ravens feed him and he drank from the brook. Cool, huh? God provided for him. I used to imagine him just takin' a vacation and being completely cared for by animals that God sent. But now I see it differently. He was fed meat and bread from the beaks of ravens. Ravens were unclean to him. And how gross would that be to eat the food a filthy bird left on the ground for you? I'd have to get pretty hungry before I'd eat it the first time. And drinking from the brook? How clean was that? Notice that later when he went to the widow he asked for a drink of water IN A CUP. But aside from the grossness of it all, he's dealing with all this and obeying God and then the brook dries up! That had to cause some questions in his mind as to whether or not he was really following God. But it wasn't over. God had another word for him. He sent him to the widow. So he obeys and goes and asks her for food (in her hand--notice he didn't want to eat from birds anymore. ;-) ) and drink. She tells him that she doesn't have any bread. What she does have she was about to prepare as a last meal for her son and herself and then they would all die because of lack of food. Don't you think that would have given him pause to wonder if he was doing the right thing? But he tells her to do that, but feed him first. And don't worry about it because God will make sure you don't run out of food.
How could Elijah have such faith? How could he be so sure in the midst of such troubles? I think it all comes from LISTENING TO GOD. He was in constant communion with Him.
And the lesson I've learned from this story, and from too much experience in my own life, is that when it seems like things aren't going well after we've obeyed God, we just aren't seeing the big picture. We see our current situation as everything there is. But God sees that sometimes you have to suffer today to get to where you need to be tomorrow. And sometimes what seems like the worst suffering EVER is really helping you to avoid even worse suffering.
It's all about having a relationship with Him and following Him step by step. It's so easy to take that Word from God and do what He says, but stop listening. But God is always talking to us and we just need to keep our eyes on Him and our ears tuned to Him. We need to know what the NEXT step is.
Kind of like when Peter got out of the boat. Jesus TOLD him to come to Him out on that stormy sea. Peter was just obeying. Why did he then begin to sink? Was it because he hadn't really heard the voice of the Lord? Of course not. He just started looking at the world around him instead of focusing on his Lord. But Jesus didn't let Peter sink. Peter cried out for help and he received it.
And then there are martyrs, like Stephen. He was obeying God and was killed for it. Jesus warned us that it wouldn't be easy to follow Him. He said to take up our cross and follow Him. This didn't just mean wear a crucifix around your neck and claim that you are a Christian and go to church every Sunday!! Jesus hadn't yet been crucified when He said that, but He knew from the culture at that time how hard it would be to "take up your cross." He knew He was asking us to do something really hard. But we do it if we love Him.
God is always there watching over us. Sometimes we forget to listen and sometimes we think we're done before we really are. Sometimes things are just hard because they have to be because we live in a fallen world. But God speaks to us and wants us to follow Him and in the very end our reward will be great.
| "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. | |
| "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. |
| "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. |
| Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. |
| And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, | |
| But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality. |
| Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. | |
| For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: | |
| "For yet a little while, | |
| But if anyone draws back, | |
| But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. |
| "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. | |
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