Sometimes in the pasture, my man will give me these strange hand signals. I understand the stop signal, the come along signal but sometimes I have a hard time understanding look in the draw, there’s a calf lying down signal. I’m sure he can tell when I shrug my shoulders and raise my arms in a questioning position. He tries again……still not following…..and then I hear a calf bawl and head in that direction to which he gives me the thumbs up.
There are times in our walk with the Lord that we are just not sure what He is telling us to do. We may be able to recognize stop, come along, but when it comes to something a little more complicated we are stumped.
When this happens, the longer we wait, the more discouraged we get. In our desperation we “throw our hands in the air like we just don’t care”….sorry, I couldn’t resist. But really we do. We give up!
Start with these 5 questions when looking for direction
- Do I believe He has a plan for me?. Romans 1:17 says the righteous live by faith. It’s true, we cannot see what’s ahead. Sometimes we think He doesn’t care about us or the details of our life. Jer. 29:11, tell us differently. Waiting on that plan can be confusing and a bit frustrating, especially if we feel like God is answering everyone else’s prayers.
- What’s He saying to me? No it doesn’t happen for special people, oh I take that back. Yes, it does but you have to realize you are His. He has put the helper inside of you for discernment (Eph. 5:15). What He tells you to do might look different than what he’s telling someone else to do. He will never tell you to do something that contradicts His word.
- Am I acting like a brat? ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo, ooo, I got a new attitude…thanks Patti LaBelle for getting that stuck in my head . Be thankful for all you have. Just think about it, wouldn’t you rather give something to a grateful kid instead of a demanding bratty one? Why does He care how I act while I’m waiting? Check out the story of the Israelites in the desert. They had to keep going around that mountain because of their attitudes. Josh. 5:6
- Is there anything blocking my view? It’s harder for me to take direction from my man in the pasture when he is too far for me to see him. His hand signals at this point are just a blur. The same happens with our relationship with God. If we get to far from Him, it’s hard to understand His direction for our lives. If you are struggling with sexual sin,1 Thes. 4:3, lying, cheating on your taxes, stealing at work, get those things out of your life. Laughing it off and saying, “everyone is doing it! “, not a good idea. Clear up your view so you can see.
- What am I saying about myself? You can do all the above but if you still have negative confessions about yourself, you will not see results. Prov. 18:20-21. Stop saying words like,”I never, I can’t, nothing good ever happens to me”. Don’t fall for the name it and claim it either but you can never go wrong when you say what is true. Remember God sees the bigger picture. He may be building confidence, not cockiness..character not a character. Make good confessions over your life.
Waiting on direction doesn’t mean God will bring a job to your door. He can but it rarely happens that way. Take an active role. We can’t be complacent and remove ourselves from a situation all in the name of Christianity. God doesn’t intend it that way…look and see how many times you see Jesus change someone’s direction on their way somewhere else. Start with these questions and see if that might help you get closer to what direction He may have for you.
Have you ever gotten the wrong signals? Your words might encourage someone else. Please comment and would appreciate you signing up for my emails on my homepage. Thank so much!
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