Riding The Waves

All day I have been watching on Facebook all of the posts of my friends heading out to or arriving in Dallas.  They are all about to converge on The Star…..the Dallas Cowboys training facility…..for a weekend of Advocare.  This is the time of year when products are introduced, stories are shared and motivation is abound.  6 months ago we bought our tickets to attend…..but oh so much has happened since then.

For many reasons we decided to not attend this year, but the top reason on my list is the only one that matters to me.  I don’t believe God’s plan for my life has anything to do with making a business out of Advocare.  Don’t get me wrong, I swear by the products, and don’t see myself ever stopping using them; but the business…..I don’t think that’s for me.

Some may say, “Well, you didn’t try hard enough.  You didn’t work at it.”  That is not the case at all.  But it doesn’t matter how hard you work at something, if it’s not God’s plan….it’s never going to happen.

My wife and I were talking the other night, and what’s funny is that our big “Advocare God moment,” was not an Advocare moment at all.  It was a moment where God told us we were on the right track….with our spiritual lives.  Of the three days of speakers….it was a preacher that fired us up.  It was his “Reach out and give your neighbor a high-five,” a la Steven Furtick, that set us off.  And I was in the car today on the way home thinking that when my wife asked me, in that parking lot, when the rain started to fall, “Are we gonna do this or what” ……..our answer was not about Advocare, which we thought at the time, but about us jumping head-first into God’s plan.

God has a plan for each of us.  God is in charge.  And don’t think for one minute he isn’t.  Just look at King Nebuchadnezzar.  We are in the middle of a series at church on Daniel.  King Nebuchadnezzar valued Daniel’s opinion and advice.  However, he did not value Daniel’s God.  King Nebuchadnezzar thought he had created Babylon himself…..had attained all this greatness himself.  God gave him a chance, but he ignored it.  “Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws (Daniel 4:33.)”

It took 7 years for King Nebuchadnezzar to come to God.  But when he did, immediately God restored him.  “At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride (Daniel 36-37.)”

I guess what I’m really trying to say is this…..once we put our hands up and submitted to Almighty God, our world began to change.  The doors began to open.  The boys got in the school we wanted them in. The house appeared. We ended up in our new church. I have begun school towards my calling in the ministry.  Doors are opened when we follow God…when we don’t…..well, life becomes difficult.

I’m not perfect.  I still have my ups and downs daily.  Yesterday for example….what I thought was an opportunity for me came along….so all day I made plans in my head…thinking….this is the perfect place for me….the perfect job for me.  And then last night it hit me…..those were my plans.  Those weren’t God’s plans.  So I prayed that even though I was excited about this opportunity, for God to help me follow His plan for my life….for Him to keep me centered and focused on Him, and everything will fall into place.

I know I am where I am at for a reason.  I am grateful for the season I am in….a season of growth, a season of learning, a season of change.  But what I do know more than ever is that it’s way easier to ride God’s waves than push against them.  Because when those waves break……I’d much rather be on top…..then underneath the wall of water as it comes crashing down.

So I pray that we can all find that path we are supposed to be on.  And trust me, you will know when you get there.  You won’t need a map, you won’t need a Garmin….you won’t need some computer lady telling you to keep turning left.  And like I’ve said before….I don’t know where this path will lead….but I know God will be there with open arms when I get there.