Tag: Prayer

God’s Plan

Are we on the path that God has for us? He is giving us direction, but are we listening? Are we confident in that still small voice that speaks to us? Everyday, people question themselves and wonder if God is truly directing their lives. I know for myself, I have gone through times where I wonder if God has heard my prayers. I wonder if I’m on that straight and narrow path that leads to Him.

There are many things around us that can keep us from fulfilling the vision that God has for us. Here are three things that can keep from doing what God as called us to do and how we can overcome them.

1. Distractions.

We live in a world full of distractions. Our world is full of them. They are ready and willing to take your attention. Everything from Facebook to work to family can offer a distraction to what God has called us to do. We seem to have a microwave type of attention span and God doesn’t work that way.

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

This is how we overcome distractions. We have to fight to focus on God. From the moment we wake up in the morning until we go to bed at night. That may seem extreme, but think about it. What is the first thing you do in the morning? For most people they look for their cell phone and get on social media. We’ve gotten to the point that we do this without thinking about it. So we have to fight to focus from the beginning of the day. We only fight for those things that are a priority. God has to be a priority.

We fight for the things that are a priority Click To Tweet

2. Emotions.

A lot of times our emotions drive us. They drive us sometimes when we are not thinking about it. Our emotions can steer us away from God if we are not careful. A lot of times we think that because people go to church they will act differently than people who don’t. We elevate them to such a high standard that they can’t maintain that standard even if they tried. We let things like anger and pride creep in because someone at the church did something to us and that steers us away from God.

3. Out of Balance Priorities.

When our life seems out of control, most times it can be traced to our priorities being out of line. We’ve moved something or someone higher on our list than they need to be.

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

The best way to overcome an out of balanced priority lifestyle is to have an inner circle that can speak into your life. People that have the green light to tell you when they see something that may be out of balance. People that you will listen to and not get defensive with.

While there are many things that will try to pull us away from God, if we can fight to focus on Him, there will be great things that He will do through us.

The Assignment

Do you have an assignment from God? Are we all really called to do something great? If so, is it possible to know what exactly is this great assignment?

I’m a firm believer that the answer to these questions and many others that we have about our assignment from God is “Yes!”. We are called to do something great. There is something specific that each of us needs to do with our lives.

Does God Have a Plan For Me?

Jeremiah 29:11(ESV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

God has a great future for us! How do we know what His plan is for us is? How do we begin to walk out that plan?

How to Find the Plan

Through seeking God we begin to know what He has in store for us. This part must be intentional. So many times we pray about direction and clarity, only to sit around and do nothing. Our mindset can be that God is just going to place everything into our laps.

I don’t think that God gives us the whole picture of our assignment all at once. Many times it would be too much for us to handle and the pressure we would feel to live up to that would crush us. So He gives it us one piece at a time.

The Best For My Children

While my children are 3 and 1 years old right now, I can relate to this. In my heart I already want the best for them. I want to put them in the best situations so that they can succeed. My heart wants them to accomplish something great. I’m already beginning to plan things out so that I can give them the best options possible. God does the same for us. Just like I wouldn’t tell my 3 year old son, all of the lessons, classes, and skills that are in my heart for him to do. God doesn’t tell us everything.

My son is not ready for that right now. He wouldn’t understand and instead of pursuing the plan, he’d probably quit, pick up his Thomas the Train toys, and play.

What’s Most Important

I believe the key is to know that God has a plan for us. But like a little child, we can’t throw a temper-tantrum when we don’t know the whole plan. Let’s continue to seek Him for the next step. Then be diligent and have the consistency to complete those steps.

This is how we can begin to know what our assignment is from God.

What steps have you taken to know your assignment?

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend a conference at my church. The basis of the conference was to equip Christians to become bold witnesses for Christ. As I was listening to the minister I began to think about why Christians today are not as bold as they could be.

Why Not Us

This is not an indictment on Christians, but rather just my observations and what I think is necessary to help us grow into bold, confident believers. I see so many people of other faiths that are bold and it seems that Christians are lacking when it comes to boldness.

Are we, as Christians, willing to talk about our faith at work, in the community and just in everyday life? I’ll be the first to admit that I may not do this as well as others. I do however, understand who I am and who I represent.

Confidence in Who I AM

I believe confidence  is one of the biggest problems that Christians face today. Too many of us do not understand who are. We are not sure what it means to be called of God. We read the Bible and there is a disconnect from what we read to how it applies to us.

If we look at other groups in society, they seem very solid and grounded in who they are and what they stand for.

I believe that boldness starts with confidence. Confidence in who God has called me to be. I must have confidence in what God has called me to do with my life. Christian boldness starts with these things.

I can’t speak to my neighbors, co-workers, friends and family about my faith and love for God if I’m not confident in that faith and love.

Spending Time With God

The purpose of spending time with God is to gain confidence in who He is. Gaining an understanding of God and being in a relationship with God also breeds confidence in Him.

This week, let’s look to build our confidence in God by spending time with Him. Then we can go into the world and be bold Christians that share His love.