Christian Living
To Fight or Follow?
I had a phone call from God this morning. He spoke quite clearly through my friend, Julianne.
I’ve had a tiring week. Add minor phyiscal difficulties to the stress of coping with Katrina, homeschooling and preparing for Christmas and you’ll have some idea. I slept in this morning. At 8:45 a.m., the phone jolted me out of a deep sleep.
Julianne called to check on us because she didn’t see us at Story Time or Homeschool PE this week. I told her what had happened and said, “…but we’ll be there next week.”
Julianne laughed and said, “Now, we have to be careful with that, don’t we?”
I knew exactly what she meant. Prior to the advent of Hurricane Katrina my family and I had planned to go to Disneyworld.
We were careful about spending money and our kids were very aware of our preparations. One day, we decided to spend some other money we had saved on a new TV. My eight year old daughter, Kayla, was concerned, “We don’t want to break the bank. We want to go to Disneyworld!”
“Don’t worry, baby,” I said through my giggles. “We have money set aside for Disneyworld. We are going to go.”
Even as the words came out of my mouth I felt a check in my spirit. Prov 27:1 flashed through my mind, Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. I gulped down my pride and hoped that I hadn’t set my child up for a big fall.
We haven’t been to Disneyworld, but the money we saved got us safely to Atlanta, where we rode out Katrina. Fortunately, Kayla and Daniel have been very understanding.
This discussion led me to think about some issues I’ve been having lately. I have been a slave to the rules. I’ve lived by a planner and felt like a failure if everything on my list wasn’t crossed off at the end of the day. There is nothing wrong with planning and submitting to the rule of law helps us to be productive, contributing members of society. However, we need to make sure that our plans leave God room to work. They should always be submitted to God and open for Him to change them.
My to do list is not God. I am not a failure if I do not achieve every goal I have set, as long as I am hearing God and living by his two all-important rules. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind. Love your neighbors as yourself.”
Am I loving my neighbor when I shove my homeschooling agenda down my children’s throats? Or when I guilt my husband into being more involved in church? Or when I ignore the fact that someone is hurting because I am too busy teaching math to stop and care? Am I loving God with all my heart and soul and mind when my plans keep me from listening to Him? Sometimes my agenda needs to be thrown out the window. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Prov 14:12
I want to follow God! I want my children to learn to follow God, not their own plans, or their perception of the expectations of others.
Isa 55:9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. God is everywhere, working all around me. He wants me to use my time wisely and simply follow Him.
I’m sure glad He called!
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 1937 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Debbie OConnor or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 1937 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.
An excellent column about trying to juggle living life with our eyes on the next world while attending to the necessities in the "NOW" world. Very well written.
May God bless.
Sincerely,
Dan Blankenship