Wow, I have been wanting to post, but just have not made it a priority. We have started summer term at Salem Bible College (my first term here), and we have moved...so it has been pretty busy. I should actually be doing homework right now, I have 100 pages in my Jeremiah text, 20 chapters in the Bible, and 81 pages to read in my Philosophy text. Yikes, I shouldn't be doing this right now!!! I'm also enjoying a Blueberry Muffin Poptart and coffee---have you tried the Blueberry Muffin Poptarts? They are REALLY good!!
Alright, so last time I discussed my struggle with obedience with leaving my job at First Christian Pre-Primary. But that was just the beginning of my test in obedience. With this move to Brooks, we have had to find new homes for our dogs. I can't remember how much I have said about that, but we had a 3 year old yellow Lab named Mannie and an 8 year old Mini Doxie named Rusty. We found a wonderful home for Mannie and it was hard to leave him, but I know he is being loved and he loves it!!! The boys had a pretty hard time with leaving him, he was their buddy. We then had to find a home for our little dog, not so easy. He is very quirky, and I just wasn't sure how to find him a home. So, today's blog is about my obedience in finding him a home.
It started about May 4th. I had contacted a dog rescue place to see if they had room for Rusty or if they had any ideas on what I could do to find him a home. She e-mailed me back and said that she would check with the lady that runs the rescue and get back to me. I got an e-mail from Randy about the details (this was before we moved, and before we knew for sure that we could do it) of our future living situation and that we could move in on June 1. Right after that e-mail, I received one from the rescue that they could take Rusty and she said they could actually take him that weekend. My first thought was that "Wow God, you must have put that together." Saturday came and went and I had not committed to taking Rusty to this place. I wasn't sure that it was God telling me to take him. I had no peace about it...I was worried about him being there because he would be with other small dogs in a yard with the option of an indoor place to go and rest. I couldn't imagine him being there after 8 years of snuggling in our bed with us...what a shock to him that would be. The night that I was most worried about it, the next morning, I woke up to my daily e-mail devotional and it was about not being afraid, and about God being God. So, again I thought "God is this you confirming this?" I wasn't sure if God was telling me to not be afraid of the "whole situation" or of taking Rusty to this place. I continued to pray and seek God about it. I decided to sit down and meditate on God's word (remember a couple blogs ago, I said "put yourself in God's word"--it wasn't about obedience--but God's word applies to ALL areas of our lives) So, anyway, I decided to go to Proverbs--a book in the Bible that focuses on wisdom. I was just going to start at Proverbs 1, but as I headed there, I felt like I should read Proverbs 3. Proverbs 3 talked to me about seeking wisdom and Proverbs 3: 5-6 reminded me again to "not lean on your own understanding." Again, I said "God, is this you telling me to not rely on my understanding of what you are doing through this rescue for Rusty--or are you just telling me to continue to trust you with the 'Whole situation.'" I continued to seek God for Him to give me peace in the situation with the answer to what I should do with Rusty.
On May 25 I was working on a paper for class. It was doing a reflection on Proverbs 2:1-6--about wisdom and about going to God and His Word for our wisdom and understanding. This really spoke to me about making sure that when I am seeking wisdom, that the wisdom I get needs to come from my time with the Lord, not the thoughts or feelings that I have or that anyone else may have. So, no matter what others would think, no matter how I was "feeling" about the decision...I needed to trust God and rely on His wisdom. God does not call us to be comfortable and to have things be easy all the time...He calls us to follow Him and be obedient to His plan. He has the bigger picture...He sees your tomorrows...we can't see what is ahead and when we see that something doesn't look right to us...we have to remember that our vision is cloudy, God's is clear and He knows what is best and He knows how it will work out!! After doing this reflection I felt that I needed to go ahead with plans to take Rusty to this place, but all of a sudden there was another option. We had prayed that God would provide another way that wouldn't cost us $100 and wouldn't be a place that Rusty had to be away from people--and all of a sudden there was another option. A good friend offered to help out and keep Rusty in her home while they looked for a home for him. WOW, what an amazing option. I felt like God had provided that option and that was the way to go. But I have to say, that there were still some reservations--not peacefulness--inside of me about it. I sought God that night again for His clear guidance....as our time was getting short.
The next morning I did my reflection for the next week of class....another Proverbs. It was Proverbs 1:1-7. Again this re-affirmed how very important it is for us to be in God's Word, but not only in it----applying it to our lives. It also reminded me of Isaiah 55:8-9 that tells us that God's thoughts are not like ours, His ways are beyond what we can imagine, His ways are higher then ours and His thoughts are higher then ours. WOW, again He tells me..."you can't understand what I am doing, my ways and thoughts you can't even imagine, trust me and I will show you, follow me and I will do what it is that I do best....I will work it out (here is the key) MY WAY, NOT YOURS!"
OK, I get it...I get it...I had 100% complete peace, peace that I definitely did not have before--peace that was only from God--and that told me what I needed to do. The peacefulness in my heart was so contrasting to the nonpeacfulness the weeks prior, that I could not ignore it and knew that there was only one way for me to be obedient, and that was to take Rusty to the rescue. I contacted them that day and set it up.
Turns out that Rusty only had to stay one night at the rescue and then he went to a foster home with a lady that is good with senior dogs and behavior probs and Doxies. Do you think God had a plan? I think so....I know so!! Thank you God. It took alot for me to be obedient, but it was such a great lesson. God showed me so clearly the peace that He can give when we are following Him and doing what He has asked us to do.
Do you have a decision to make? Are you trusting God to direct you? Really seek Him and search for His peace. Spend time with Him, spend time in His Word. Trust His guidance and His peace.
Obedience Part 3...coming soon!!--I hope
No comments:
Post a Comment