Don’t Try to Make It Happen
Have you ever wanted something so bad that you went out and purchased it even though you knew you shouldn’t and couldn’t afford it? Or have you ever wanted something to happen so bad that you did everything in your power to make it happen, even though there were lots of road blocks and signs along the way showing that it really wasn’t what you should be doing?
As Christ-followers, we believe that the Holy Spirit has been given to us to guide us; that there is nothing too small to ask for Him to be involved in. There are a lot of scriptures that tell us that we can trust the leading of our lives to the Lord. Probably the most well known verses are Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.”
There are many incidents in Scripture that tell of the Lord giving specific direction to someone. In Acts 5:19-20 the angel of the Lord came and opened the doors of the prison, let the apostles out and told them to go stand in the temple courts and tell the people about the gospel. The angel of the Lord told Phillip to go to a specific direction on a specific road. There he met an Ethiopian eunuch who was reading the scriptures and Phillip led him to the Lord. (Acts 8:26-39) The Lord knocked Paul off his horse, blinded him and told him to go into Damascus. Then the Lord told Ananias the specific house to go to find Paul and pray for him. (Acts 9)
In Numbers 9 of today’s reading we are told how the Israelites knew when to move their camp. “At the Lord’s command they encamped and at the Lord’s command they set out.” (Verse 23) A cloud appeared over the tabernacle on the day it was set up; a cloud by day and it looked like fire by night. Whenever the cloud lifted and moved the Israelites knew it was time to pack up and move. Sometimes they were only in a camp from evening until morning, sometimes a few days, a month or a year. But then the cloud moved, they moved.
I think this is a lesson showing us that we can trust the Lord to lead and guide our lives. If the Israelites would have decided to move on their own they would have left the presence of the Lord and put themselves in great danger. The same is true for us. If we try to make things happen that the Lord has not ordained for our lives we leave the presence of the Lord behind and can get ourselves into so much trouble. Granted, waiting or staying in one place is not always fun. We want things to happen, and some people have said, “If nothing happens, I am going to make it happen!” Bad decision!
I am in a waiting period right now that I don’t really understand. I feel the Lord wants me to move, but it’s not happening like I thought it would happen. I am confident that in the Lord’s time he will bring all the pieces together to make it happen. In the meantime I am learning more patience. I know that the Lord’s timing is best and that his ways are not my ways. (Isa. 55:8)
Learn to listen to the Lord, depend on his timing and leading. Don’t try to make something happen but trust the Lord to guide your life. Trust him with all your heart!!
Naomi Brinkman
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