Are you really content or just saying that?

This year has certainly been a wild ride. Now that 2012 is just around the corner I wanted to share one major lesson that has been a recurrence in my life and perhaps even yours. It is this montage- "I am giving God more glory where I am at now than where I want to be".

This has been a very difficult truth to swallow considering my heart bleeds for ministry and preaching, yet, God has me in a sales position. It doesn't make complete sense right now and I have to be content with that. If I truly trust God with my life and passions and hopes and dreams then I shouldn't question him b/c he hasn't forgotten about me nor put me on the wayside.

How about you? Are you facing a tough decision, perhaps your have been places in a difficult place in life and you have to decide if trusting Christ is an expression that I say or a decision that I believe.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him and He'll make your paths straight

How Long oh Lord

There are seasons of life when we wonder how long must I endure this _____. It seems like you have waves that you go through in order to get through and tolerate the pain or discomfort of this troubling season. Yet here you are no matter what direction/choice you make you end up with the same problem or set of problems. For me it is the idea that what I am passionate about and desire the most seems to get further and further away. I look back as to where I first started in ministry and see where I am now...polar opposites. "How long oh Lord..." David cries this out in brutal honesty before God. What boldness, yet this is what our/my heart screams.

I can't imagine what Joseph felt when he was thrown into slavery, thinking "God, you showed me in a dream that I would be in great powerful position... why am I here?" When Joseph went into slavery he was 17, when he became second to Pharaoh he was 30! That was 17 years of learning what it means to be great leader.

Perhaps in the most polar opposite world that you are in is the exact sort of training that is necessary to move you/me into the next phase or season. The bigger question is do you trust God or your circumstances?

Psalm 13:1-5
¹ How long will you forget me, Lord? Forever? How long will you hide from me?² How long must I worry and feel sad in my heart all day? How long will my enemy win over me? ³ Lord, look at me. Answer me, my God; tell me, or I will die. ⁴ Otherwise my enemy will say, "I have won!" Those against me will rejoice that I've been defeated. ⁵ I trust in your love. My heart is happy because you saved me.