Sanctuary of Tranquility: Our Walk With God is Unequally Ours

Sanctuary of Tranquility: Our Walk With God is Unequally Ours: In one of my way too many recent emails, I read the fictional account of two women who had both passed on to heaven.  As the first woman ap...

Our Walk With God is Unequally Our Own

In one of my way too many recent emails, I read the fictional account of two women who had both passed onto heaven. As the first woman approached the throne of the Lord and knelt before him, he commended her for all of her earthly accomplishments. She had opened and operated an orphanage, financially sponsored countless children from all over the world and had been an inspirational speaker reaching countless people. The next woman who had been patiently waiting, lowered her eyes as she knelt before the King and wept silently. When He asked her why she was weeping, she asked him to please forgive her for not accomplishing more during her own lifetime. After hearing of all the wonderful things the woman before her had accomplished she was certain she was a huge disappointment. The Lord studied her for a moment before reaching out and wrapping his arms around her. "What are you talking about?" he asked, "Why you are a wonderful wife and a beautiful mother. You raised four remarkable young men who each went through very difficult periods, yet are excellent, hardworking grown men who honor my word and laws. That, my daughter, is an accomplishment few can master." 

This little story made me stop and think of all the times when I feel like I have fallen short and have done things all wrong, or not done what I was supposed to do at all. 
It filled my heart with a deeper love for the one I pray to and adore.
A God who is loving, kind and fair.  A God who created us each to be beautifully unique in every way, including our walk with Him. 
We each have our own journey with assignments and instructions to fulfill that lead us to our own destiny. The first woman may have had access to a great fortune and multiple connections at her fingertips. She may have also battled alcoholism or lost a child. Yet she may have known just the right people to ensure that everything she wanted to accomplish would flow smoothly. 
Her stumbling blocks were unique to her, and her path her own. 
The second woman, whose accomplishments may have seemed more mundane had her very own struggles as well. Perhaps difficulties giving birth, or raising and nurturing her boys. She may have had to make many personal sacrifices along the way that no one was even aware of... except Jesus. 
Both women completed the assignments given, and pleased God and that is all that mattered. For anyone to try and compare one with another is foolish. 

When my children were growing up, they asked me why certain classes; that didn't really make sense, were required to graduate from high school or college, There were times when I didn't fully understand those reasons myself. I did, however, understand that often times what we were taking or studying isn't nearly as important as that we were following directions and completing the required material.
Following directions that are given to us by the Holy Spirit is much the same; it is not up to us to determine if those instructions make sense, or if we agree with them or even want to carry them out. It is simply our job to do what we have been asked to do without too much whining. 

Certainly, some of the things he has asked me to do didn't make sense nor did it seem like they really mattered, and sometimes I even thought to myself, this is really silly or he must be joking, right? 

But in retrospect, I am certain that they were all important, for even if they seemed silly, or inconsequential at the time to me, they were requests from my Lord, Jesus Christ, and he wanted to see if I was listening, being obedient and having faith. 

As Christians, we have each had our own experiences with the Holy Spirit and we have heard testimony from others concerning their experiences as well. I have met people who have made great sacrifices to be obedient. People who have been asked to move to destinations that make no sense to them or their family and friends and I have met people who have been asked to give up things or do things that our earthly minds feel are crazy or even wrong. In some cases, their livelihood and finances were jeopardized and in extreme cases, they were arrested and placed in jail or prison. But because they believed they were being obedient to God, it didn't really matter what other people thought or what the consequences were.  

Meeting and sharing with these various people has shown me that we have no business ever doubting any one's personal testimony concerning the Holy Spirit. Most of the time, what we think we know about someone else's life is not even close to the truth. It is never a good idea to second-guess or doubt someone's testimony unless it is evil or against the scriptures. Doing so is calling the Holy Spirit a liar and we all know that nothing could be further from the truth. 

Numbers 23:19(KJV) God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Telling someone that God doesn't speak like that, or that he wouldn't ask them to do something which may seem far-fetched to them such as giving up their job or home or lifestyle, indicates a huge lack of understanding of Our Lord. Advising someone that the things prophesied over their lives are not possible or are unlikely is wrong as well, doing this is not an assumption we are not qualified to make. It creates an unnecessary division among Christians, which is getting to be all too common.  When someone offers us their testimony it is good to listen, have faith and offer prayers and support. Never ridicule or judge. 

We may have made up our minds that we have it all together and that our life is cake until God asks us to turn that all upside down to do the things for our own good or things he knows we were born to do. He knows all things. and He is nothing like us.   

                      "His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. 

      For as the heavens  are higher than the earth, so are his ways higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts."

Believing anything less indicates a lack of faith and trust in him. For he is God Almighty and if he wants to throw diamonds down from heaven or sprinkle us with gold dust when he is pleased with us, who's going to stop him? Believing anything less than that about him is putting him in a box and you can't put God Almighty, the maker of the Universe in a box.

It's time we all press in closer to Our Father instead of second-guessing or judging what he is telling someone else to do. Allow their walk to be theirs and yours your very own. Busy ourselves listening for his voice, his instruction in our own lives. Be alert and without one single worry or concern about the things he asks us to do. So what if we are inconvenienced or our lives get tossed around for a season. His plans for our lives are exactly what we need to transform us into who He wants us to be. They are for our own good and the good of the kingdom. 

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13

So why not start right this very moment by encouraging to others and focus on the prize...remember that our rewards are in heaven and that God knows every little detail of our lives. and we never know what he might have for us right here, right now if we only just listen and obey. It might just blow your mind. God is that good!