When a soldier receives His orders, he does not question them—he follows them, wherever they direct him to go. And not only that, but the ‘orders’ can change without any notice. So it is with God’s deployment. Likewise, last week in Belize our plans changed suddenly, and without notice, when Hurricane Richard hit the tiny country of Belize head-on.
Subsequently, two of the missionaries we had planned to meet with were unavailable. And another we had not arranged to meet with showed up out of the blue! Any devoted disciple of Jesus learns quickly that following the Lord is not always comfortable, often fraught with unpredictable pauses—shall I say, divine disruptions. But if you will follow Him attentively, He will lead you to experiences you would never have imagined. The opposite may appear safe, but is, well, boring. And much worse, you will fail to get acquainted with the God is able to accomplish infinitely more than you would ever dare to ask or hope (Ephesians 3:20 NLT).
Can you say: "Lord, I accept your orders for me today. Deploy me wherever I am needed. I am at your disposal. And move me, without notice, into the place that's right for You and best for me”? As Christ's soldier, do not let yourself become tied up in the affairs of this life, for then you cannot satisfy the one who has enlisted you in his army (2 Timothy 2:4).
Greg,
ReplyDeleteI heard someone say recently that "coincidences happen; but when you are a Christian, they seem to occur more frequently!" Perhaps that is a huge understatement, considering your text, but it does express the tie-in between the submission of our time and presence to His timing and our presence in many situations that could only be explained as "God-incidences."
Stan
I won't forget your coined phrase:
ReplyDeleteGod-incidences