But I decided to stay home. It's a little chilly this morning and the warmth of my blanket and mocha has kept me indoors. At least for right now. I may venture out later.
So I decided to spend some time praying and reflecting on yesterday's sermon instead. The Summit Church's staff is full of amazing and gifted speakers. And from time to time, we get to hear from someone other then J.D. And this weekend was one of those times.
J.D. started a sermon series at the beginning of the year entitled God and the Rest of the Week. Basically each week, we as a church will be focusing on the fact that God should be more then just a Sunday Morning God. He is a God that should be a part of our daily lives. He is a God that we should look to for guidance and most importantly wisdom in all areas of our life. Every. Day. Of. The. Week.
We have talked about parenting, our jobs and this weekend it was about following His will.
One of the reasons why I became a part of the Summit family was because from the first Sunday that I visited, I felt that God was talking to me through J.D. and others on staff. And this week was no different.
I am not afraid to admit that I have been struggling lately about what God's will is for my life. This journey that I have been on since the Fall of 2010 has been full of all kinds of ups and downs. I spent some time this morning re-reading several of my blog posts and looking back over the journal that I kept during the transition time as well. Some of my writings made me smile, there were some that made me cry and there were some that reminded me of what I should be focusing on.
I have never questioned if I started my life over again in the right place or not. I only had a few options but I know that I made the right choice. I choose to come back to the Raleigh/Durham area. It was almost like God was allowing me to rewind to the place where I had left off 7 1/2 years before. I live close to where I did before, I have many of the same people in my life and I am at the same job.
But there are some differences too. I am a homeowner. I have a second cat (but I am not the crazy cat lady). I have a new church. New co-workers. I live on my own. The past three years have actually been the first time that I have ever lived on my own. I will admit that it was scary at first, but I kind of dig it now. I am even learning how to cook. And how to call Papa Johns.
But more importantly, I am trying harder to allow God to direct me down the right path. But it hasn't been easy. It is hard to give God complete control of your life. I have dreams. I have wants and I have a time schedule.
One thing God has been showing me these last few weeks is that I don't always get what I want. That my time line isn't His. That my dreams aren't His. That the path I want to take isn't the one that He has in store for me. That I am not perfect. That I have made mistakes. That I don't always do what God wants. But that is is all going to be okay.
I learned a few things during the sermon yesterday. This journey that I have been on has been more about God forming my character then forming my future. I know that I am a much different person now then I was 11 years ago. I thought I knew it all then. But I didn't. All of the heart ache. All of the changes. All of the life experiences have shaped me.
I am a different person. And I can now admit that I don't have all of the answers. I don't know why things have happened the way that they have. I don't know why God hasn't given to me what my heart desires the most. And I have no idea what the future holds. But one thing that I do know is that God is in control. God does have a will for my life. I just need to seek His wisdom.
This week's sermon focused on some versus that I have not read in awhile. There are several places in the Bible that talk about God's plan and God's timing. But I like the fact that these focus on God's wisdom. I learned yesterday that all I have to do is passionately pursue His wisdom. I learned that all I need is His wisdom and then everything else will just fall in place when and if it's His will. So I will end this post with the scripture from the sermon. And a challenge.
Are you passionately pursuing His wisdom?
Proverbs 2:1-11
My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
3
indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6
For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7
He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8
for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
9
Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path.
10
For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11
Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
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