Oh how hard headed we can often be! I have come to wonder how God puts up with ANY of us! (Myself included! Probably myself more than anyone else…) what’s it going to take for us to realize that God’s Word is true? That His promises are REAL? That He is a faithful God, not one to lie. That the examples He has given us in His Word are there for a reason, for us to learn from?
I don’t know about you, but I have discovered that I am totally and completely hard headed! I know I serve a patient God because He continues to be so patient with me! Honestly, there are days when I want to run away from my own self!
God is not a “far away God” – the Bible tells us in Hebrews 13:8:
“He is the same today as He was yesterday as He will be tomorrow.”
He is trustworthy. Perhaps many of us have trouble believing this because of situations that have occurred in our lives. People have made it hard for us to trust God in the manner that He deserves. This is where faith comes in. Hebrews 11:1 says:
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
We confuse our past experiences (or current) with how we should feel about God, or how He feels about us. This is a huge mistake. I have realized that we shouldn’t put God in the same category that we put people. People disappoint us all the time! God never will. He has your best interests at heart.
There is a country singer, named Carrie Underwood who many years ago came out with the song, “Jesus take the Wheel.” The problem many of us encounter with our lives is that we think we are more capable of driving our lives than He is!
“I can do it Lord…”
Or we backseat drive –
“No Lord, that’s not where I want to go… You made a wrong turn…”
Can you imagine us saying that to the One who knows and sees ALL things? (I’m getting embarrassed because I am recognizing myself in this post…)
God does not want you to be a “part-time lover.” He wants You (and me) to trust Him completely. That’s not an easy thing to do when you are used to “driving your own car.” I think the older I get, the harder this becomes. Life experiences can make you pessimistic. If you are not careful, your heart can be hardened. Don’t make the mistake of hardening it towards God. He is on YOUR side. Sometimes I think we take out our disappointments and our anger on God instead of the situations or people who have made us feel that way in the first place! It is misplaced distrust. One of the hardest things to do is to pray for forgiveness, but the truth of the matter is that praying forgiveness over a situation frees you from it! It takes a lot of emotion and energy to hold on anger or hurt towards someone. LET IT GO. I’m not saying it’s easy to do this – it’s not, so if you need help with it – go to the one WHO forgave YOU (and constantly forgives YOU for your sins) – Your Heavenly Father! Be honest with Him! I cannot tell you how often over the last month I have had had to pray:
“Lord – I’m having a hard time letting go of these feelings. I’m angry! I’m mad! I’m hurt! I don’t have it in me to forgive this person (or situation) for causing me such heart pain – so I need YOU to help me with this. It is bigger than I can handle. CHANGE MY HEART.”
And in time, you will find as you are obedient and submit to Him in prayer, that you are able to truly genuinely pray for that individual and situation with a heartfelt forgiveness.” The key is obedience in doing it, and not to go by your feelings. Go by what God tells you to do. Why? Because He tells you to do it! Matthew 6:14-15 tells us:
“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
God knows that forgiveness frees you, un-forgiveness binds you up and keeps you from moving forward. Pray until it becomes genuine and you will see God change you, so that it truly does.
The life lessons that we go through should draw us nearer to God and make us wiser. I don’t know about you, but if I reach out and touch a “forbidden stove” and get my hand burnt I’m in NO RUSH to touch another and experience the same pain! Fool me once! The lessons that we go through should teach us and show us that God has a rule book – The Bible. There are rules in there and examples in there not because “God is a MEAN Father.” But because He knows that if we disobey and touch the “stove” we will get hurt. We often think we know MORE than He does and then, when we “hurt” we mistakenly blame Him for our pain.
“God, I’m so sorry for those times I blamed you for my own stupidity. For my own ignorance. For my own choice in disobeying that which you told me not to do in the first place. Forgive me for my disobedience and hard headedness and help me to realize that what you say, you say for my own good. How much it must pain you when you see me go in a direction you did not mean me to go. Forgive me for my sins and help me to hear your voice clearer and to allow YOU to drive my life.”
Life is a journey. We each have our own individual journey, and there are lessons that are learned along the way. We can choose to allow those lessons to help us grow and move forward, or we can allow those lessons to stunt us, bind us up and keep us stuck in a hole we have dug for ourselves. Which do you choose?
I recently learned a huge lesson from a very painful experience, I am someone who you don’t have to tell twice, once is good enough for me. It is what you do with what you learn that helps you mature and grow in your walk with Him. It is how you APPLY that lesson. What have you learned from it? Are you allowing that lesson to help you help someone else with the knowledge you have gained? Extending the right hand of fellowship behind you to the grasp the hand of a brother or sister in Christ who is on the verge of learning what you have already been taught? This is why Romans 12:5 tells us:
“God made us many members but one in the body of Christ.”
To help each other!
Now, when red flags go off in my head, I know that they are from the Holy Spirit and they are going off for a reason – for me to take consideration, use wisdom and proceed with caution. I no longer ignore them. The Holy Spirit is my “Jiminy Cricket” – and I have learned to allow It (The Holy Spirit) be my guide.
Who is driving your car? Do you like the direction you are going or are you feeling tremendously lost? If you are, it may be time that you allowed God to take control, He’s the BEST driver there is and He’ll show you (take you) places you have never even dreamed of.
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