Saturday, October 2, 2010

The Battle for the Steering Wheel


For the past week I've been insanely discouraged about the move Monica and I will be taking a month from today.

For about two months now I have been looking for a place for us to stay. In the past two weeks I've been more aggressive about looking, calling places with landlords that are making it impossible for us to be able to move into a place they are renting out. To make matters worse, the money that I had saved for us to move into a place is all gone, being sucked into the expenses of the wedding. It's looking nearly impossible and I've been starting to get discouraged.

The thing is, I know God spoke to both Monica and I, I know that we're suppose to go. I had received a vision, and so has she and it all lines up perfectly. So I couldn't help but ask myself what was going on.

A few days after I shared this with a friend, he sent me a text message encouraging me to read a chapter out of the Calvary Distinctives book called 'Having begun in the Spirit'. This chapter impacted me, pointing out the huge mistake that I have been making in my preparation to move.

The theme of the chapter pretty much centers in Galatians 3:3, "Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect in the flesh?"

This has been my mistake. Here's the thing, again, I know for a fact that I heard from the Lord, that this vision to move to Montana came from God, that it was an idea and passion that had begun in the Spirit. MY biggest problem was that I was doing every thing that I could in my flesh to make it happen. I set my own standards stating where we should move, how we should move, how we would get there, the kind of place I want.. I just set these standards before God pretty much showing Him that I will only do what He wants me to do if He does it my way. And because I have done that, I've been hitting nothing but a bunch of brick walls. Reading that scripture and that chapter made me wonder, "Who am I to tell God how to do what He wants me to do?"

We think about how God got Paul to Rome, Paul had a desire for so long to get there but he didn't get there the way he expected, he got to Rome as a prisoner. We think about the Israelites being trapped at shore of the Red Sea, their best idea may have been to build a boat and float across to escape the Egyptians. Of course it wouldn't have worked out because they wouldn't have had enough time to build the boat, but what did God do? He parted the Red Sea for them.

God's ways are the best way, so why do we try so hard to finish our own way? Especially when God was the one who originally came up with the idea?

If it had begun in the Spirit, if it began with God, let it continue with God in the Spirit. I learned that when God starts something, we need to step aside and let Him steer, because if we try to reach for the steering wheel while He was meant to drive, we'll crash and the plan He had for us will fail.

So then, what about Montana? ... It was a vision that began in the Spirit, and my plan is to step aside and stop taking control. To let God do what He wants. Our plan is to plan, but to not make the mistake of ridding God of His freedom to do what He wants the way He wants to.

We know we're called to go, but He'll decide when we'll get there and how we'll get there.

God, do what you want.