Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Planning to walk in faith?!

I will admit it, I am a planner.  When we go on vacation I want to map out exactly what route we are going to take, which town we will stop in for food, where exactly we will stop for the night. In fact, if I could set the course with the exact times we would be stopping (give or take a few minutes) I would be blissfully happy.
Now my husband, on the other hand, is a bit more free spirited.  He likes to drive until we get hungry, or tired, or whatever and then we will stop and see what we can figure out for food, lodging, etc.   A few times this has caused some vacation stress....and once I even chucked the atlas out the window, but for the most part we have resolved this difference in personalities.  Besides, some other family may have come across that perfectly good atlas on the side of the road and been blessed, you never know!  (Does that fall under Joseph's "What you intended for evil, the Lord has used for good? Gen 50:20) 

That being said, you can probably imagine how uneasy I get when I don't have a plan, or when things aren't going according to MY plan.  I am faced with this dilemma quite often, but just recently it smacked me upside the head.  A few weeks ago, my boss came to me to let me know that there are going to be cuts made in our program, and by cuts he meant my job!  Well that was definitely not my plan. Because I am a teacher, I will finish this school year but the likelihood of me having a job next year is very slim.  Needless to say, this freaks me out.  Since my conversation I have been doing some major soul seeking (and a little job seeking too!). 
Today, as I did my devotion, I was reminded of the story of Abraham.  Well actually, Abram, because the story takes place before God changed his name.  Back in Genesis chapter 12, the Lord commands Abram to leave his country, his people, and his father's household and go.....

Trouble is, God didn't say where.  He didn't say to pull out his atlas, or look alongside the road to see if anyone has recently left a perfectly good atlas.  He didn't tell him where they would stop for the night, where they would eat, or even where they were headed.  He just told him to go. He asked Abram, to leave everything familiar and comfortable and to step out in FAITH to what God's plan for him was.  Now if we fast forward to the New Testament, Hebrews chapter 11 verse 8, we can see that Abraham is remembered for his faith, "by faith Abraham...obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."
Good thing I wasn't married to Abraham!  We can also see that God poured out blessing upon blessing on Abraham as a result of his obedience.  In fact Abraham becomes the father of the nation of Israel, God's chosen people.  That is what faith can do!

So as the next year holds a lot of uncertainty for me, I need to take a lesson from Abraham and the only plan I should make is to walk in faith....

How about you?  How is God stretching your faith lately?  What has He called you to do that is outside your comfort zone?

2 comments:

  1. Walking in faith truly is my plan. Sometimes I get in the way, but I just scootch myself out of the way and keep going in faith. Love your writing.....your faithful (in more ways than one) Roady!

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  2. I am so much like you that I also want a plan. I am reminded of Proverbs 16:9 "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." I know things change- sometimes so quickly that I lose my footing. but as I take the first step in a new direction, I know God is holding me upright and directing each step.

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