Lesson Learned 1
One thing I know about me for sure is that I’m not particularly eager to waste time. Who wants to add ‘wasting time’ to their to-do list? The longer we live, the more we realize that time awaits no one. So, the older we get, the more we learn to manage our time properly.
However, it’s so funny how often, the very things we try to avoid in life are the ones we find ourselves dancing with because of a lack of guidance, intentionality, and strategy.
For example, we all want to achieve these breathtaking goals in life, things like getting a good education, getting married, having children, financial stability to help family and friends, fancy homes, flashy cars, and so on.
And most of us have our lists ready from a very young age; I know I did. There is absolutely nothing wrong with desiring these things and God is not against them either. However, choosing to get these things done our way can cause us to self-destruct or make the journey longer and harder than it ought to be.
See, I was going through life thinking that once I checked all the boxes according to societal expectations, then life would be what it must be. I was so caught up in that mindset and will never forget when the “Lord commanded me to release everything into His hands and to seek Him first, and He will show me and teach me things that I do not know”, I boldly rejected His invitation because I felt like I knew what I was doing. I was convinced all I needed to do was to just keep up with society’s demands. Besides, what God offered me, made no sense to me at all. I mean, who does that? I was 20 years old at that time, so life couldn’t possibly be that difficult, and so I gave God all kinds of excuses as to why I couldn’t do what He asked me to do as if God needed some sort of explanation from me. So, in my cleverness and on multiple occasions, I told God stuff like:
“Dear Lord, I’m sorry but I don’t think you understand the amount of pressure that I am facing right now. I can’t drop everything and seek you first because we are living in a time where people must go to school, work, pay bills, and take care of family members, so I don’t understand how am I supposed to be able to find the time to seek you first when I have all of these things to take care of? There is only so much I can do in 24 hrs., dear God!”
Now, just by reading this prayer above, I am pretty sure you can tell that I had no idea whom I was talking to. You might even think I had lost my God-given mind back then, and you are correct! Though it is not hard for you to see that I had gone completely loony then, God still counted that moment of my life as a moment of ignorance, and it was.
However, as much as God wanted to help me, He had to respect my choice. He did not hold it against me, and He continued to love me and show me grace until God allowed me to realize seventeen years later that I had been living my life on repeat. That alone was grace because God could have left me in my mess. So, God allowed me to come to the end of myself to realize my stubbornness, which produced headaches, heartaches, torments and cycles that could have been avoided had I listened to His voice and followed His guidance. How about that for someone who doesn’t like to waste time?
So, could it be that God’s love is unconditional, but His blessings are conditional? Could it be that the road which I thought was faster based on my understanding, was just the opposite? And could it be that God’s plan is better, and His ways for my life are much higher than mine?
I have realized that it is not about accomplishing many goals that determine a successful and fulfilled life, but it’s all about consulting God to find out the blueprint of the life we were given and to know when and how He wants things done; which can be presented to each one of us differently; sometimes as daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. And if you hate dead ends like I do, I highly recommend that you present your plans and matters before God first and foremost and see what He has to say before you start your drawing board.
I perfectly understand that life is hard. And of course, God may present a different plan before you than what you originally had in mind, which can be very challenging. And the answer to your questions might be a yes, no, or not yet. But one thing I know for sure is that, once God is in control of your life, you will no longer need to worry about dead ends because God will always make sure you have a fruitful and expected end. After all, who has time for dead ends?
SCRIPTURES
“And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12: 29-32
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Leave a Reply