{Yes's and No's}

"As Christians, we are not here for our own purpose at all-- we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same. We do not know what God's compelling purpose is, but whatever happens, we must maintain our relationship with Him." {Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest}

This is my first post of the summer, and yet, summer is almost at an end. Two weeks from today I'll be back in Mississippi getting ready to start my SOPHOMORE year of college. My, how time flies. But that's not what I'm here to talk about tonight. Tonight I want to talk about the number one thing I have learned this summer.

The number one thing I have taken away spiritually from this summer is the importance of God's will. No, importance isn't quite the word I'm looking for, perhaps the sovereignty or inevitability of God's will. Ultimately, His will is going to happen, whether we say yes or no, whatever we do, it happens. It's nearly impossible to wrap my tiny little mind around it if I think about it too long. This summer has faced me with decisions. Well really just one major decision. My answer would either change my life completely, or keep it remotely the same. The thing about being a Christian though, is that when faced with life-changing decisions, you must consider two things: what do I want? And what is God's will? Ultimately, the whole God's will thing is going to win out, sometimes it's in agreement with what you want and sometimes it's not. I chose to say no in my decision, keeping my life remotely the same. Though people, and even myself, may wonder why I would choose to say no to such an opportunity, the answer was quite clear for me when making it. I didn't say no out of fear of change, nor due to difficulties that would surely arise if I had said yes, nor out of intimidation by my life-long dream right in front of my face. My answer was clear because I knew what God's will was for me in this moment. It was like a soft, resounding "wait." That was all, but it was enough to be confident as I turned down my dream...for now. Sometimes saying yes to God's will means saying no to what you want. But it doesn't always mean saying never to your dreams. Sometimes it just means not right now--not yet. Saying yes to God's will means having faith enough to trust Him completely with your whole life, including your hopes, dreams and desires.

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."
{Psalm 37:4}

"Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for Him..."
{Psalm 37:7}

"Your eyes saw my unformed substance, in Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them."
{Psalm 139:16}

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."
{Proverbs 19:21}

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
{Jeremiah 29:11}

God's will is ALWAYS the plan that is going to be best for you, it may not always be the easiest, but it is always backed up with the Lord's faithfulness and security.