Married, 2 kids, a house, a job, a dog....
If you had asked me a month ago what I thought my life would look like in 10 years, that would have been my answer. To me, this was my dream...my perfect life. But that is where the problem starts. Me, my dream. It was about me. It was about how I could have the best possible life.
When our plans don't involve Christ and serving His children, they aren't going to last very long.
It was the perfect plan. I loved my major. I loved the jobs that I could attain with my major. I had a great relationship with an incredible guy. And it all seemed to be falling into place. Now there weren't wedding bells in the near future, but I was only 21, I still had time before that needed to happen.
And then God stepped in.
He tends to do that.
So often, I make everything be about me and I forget that I am here only to bring glory to my Savior. And if I'm not doing that, then whatever I'm doing has no purpose.
He took one look at my plan and said no.
He said, yeah that looks nice. It looks like you will have a pretty good life. But I can make it incredible. I can take your so so plan, and make it the best thing ever. My plan for you is much more extraordinary. My plan for you is perfect.
I can't argue with Him. Well, I can try, but if He's promising something like that, then I'm totally on board. So, I said okay. Whatever you have planned God, I'm yours, use me, I'll go. And then He told me His plan.
Go to India.
For a year or two.
I'm sorry, what?! You want me to go to a country that I have never step foot in for that long?
But His plan is perfect.
So here I am. Trading in a beautiful cabin in the clean crisp air of the Rocky Mountains for who-knows-what in dirty India. What I thought was great is not. And what I thought was terrible is extraordinary. Through Christ, perspectives have changed.
It reminds me of the story of Saul and his conversion. Saul was convinced that what he was doing was great. He thought that murdering Christians was the perfect plan. However, God shifted his thinking. God not only changed Saul's name, but He changed his entire life. I'm sure that Saul had a great plan. I'm sure he looked at his life and said, if I do this then everyone will know who I am. I will be rich and famous. And then God stepped in and said I don't think so. What you think is great, is terrible. What you think is terrible, is extraordinary. And then God used Paul in ways that no one thought possible.
I've noticed that God tends to do that. That when you say "use me," He will, in amazing ways. I think that so often we tend to underestimate the power of God and the Holy Spirit. We tend to think that He can do some things, but not all things. We forget that He can move mountains, because we've never seen it. We forget that He can make people speak different languages, because we've never heard it. We make up excuses, saying that things that happen in our lives happen just by chance. We don't realize the miracles around us.
God is an incredible God. We need to start seeing that. We need to ask Him to remove the scales from our eyes. Saul was blinded on his way to Damascus. He had to be blind to be able to finally see. When the scales are removed from our eyes, we will finally be able to see God in everything around us. We will no longer blindly wander.
We can't ignore His plans or underestimate the ways that He wil use us. He is God. And He is more powerful than we could ever image. So, when He tells me that my plans are to small and His plans are better. I will listen. Even if it means spending a year or two in a country that I have never been to. Even if it means ministering to a people group that I have never met. Even if it means giving up my dreams.
