by MeredithNMills | Apr 15, 2016 | knowing God, Uncategorized, Waiting, Walking by Faith
It’s a crazy journey, this thing called life.
When Dreams Lie Dormant
As a kid, I always knew what I’d be when I grew up. My earliest memories include listening to recording artist, Sandi Patty. I loved her voice. I knew her songs. I joined her kids’ club. She was living my dream. Someday, I would be the next Sandi Patty. I took voice lessons, piano lessons, guitar lessons. I studied French (though only for a year), so I’d be prepared for a college music major.
But then life changed. The path that had seemed so certain all my life suddenly turned a different direction. I sensed God leading me away from my dream, as I heard Him whisper to my soul, “That dream is all about you, about making a name for yourself.” He gently reminded me that this walk of faith is about making His name known, and not my own. He asked me to give Him my dream, like a sacrifice on the altar of love.
More than anything, I wanted to walk with Jesus. But just where He was leading, I couldn’t quite tell.
Little did I know how characteristic of “real life” that change of events would be. Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
That has proved true over and over again in my life. Sometimes it’s really painful. Dreams don’t die easily. But you know what I’ve learned?
- Through it all, God is good.
That sounds cliché, and overly simplistic. But really, that’s the beauty of it. Life can be so complicated, so confusing, so disappointing, so painful. But in the midst of everything, God simply remains the same. Steadfast. Immovable. Good.
- I can trust Him with my dreams.
While God didn’t made me the next Sandi Patty, He did lead me to Life Action Ministries, where I traveled as a singer for three years. I even got to participate in a few CD projects. And best of all, I met my hubby there. We haven’t lived happily ever after, but we’ve learned what love is – a deep companionship that weathers the storms together, an abiding friendship that echoes the heart of God. No, life hasn’t turned out the way I planned, but it has been better.
- When God takes something away, He gives back more of Himself.
God’s Plans for Good
Sometimes the things we hold onto are substitutes for God Himself, and they are poor replacements for the real thing. Ultimately, they leave us empty and unfulfilled, because God alone satisfies the human soul.
What about you, dear friend? What dreams lie dormant in your heart? How have you found Him to be trustworthy? What has He revealed to you about Himself? Please join in the conversation – I’d love to hear your story!
Related Posts:
When Fear Invades
Redefining Success, Part 1
Redefining Success, Part 2
by MeredithNMills | Mar 18, 2016 | Uncategorized
“I quit!”
Some people are just born determined. Once their minds are set, they have every intention of following through. Obstacles are mere opportunities. Giving up is not an option. They are productive. They are successful. They are…amazing.
I’ve always admired such people. Because I am not one of them. Oh, how I wish persistence came naturally to me. But alas, it does not. Consistency, tenacity, perseverance – God is forming these qualities in me, yet through blood, sweat and tears.
Maybe that’s why the following verse is so precious to me.
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” Phil 1:6.
Our God is not a quitter.
What untold comfort that gives to my heart, because it means that becoming like Jesus is not up to me. This is God’s work. And He never gives up. He will finish what He started.
Sometimes I get off track, or side-tracked, or just plain tired and I don’t feel like pressing on. I’m weary of the battle against the flesh and sin just looks easier. But God is faithful. He is committed to forming Christ in His children – more committed than any human could ever be. Patiently, persistently, passionately conforming us to His image.
But there’s another priceless facet to this verse. Just as God works relentlessly in me, He is tirelessly working in the lives of those I love. My husband. My children. My brothers and sisters in Christ. What He has started in their hearts, He will bring to completion.
So instead of panicking if they make wrong choices (as I often make), I can rest assured that God will not leave them alone. If they give up, God will not give up on them. With confidence, I can pray to the Father who loves them even more than I do. I am free to be patient as He works in their lives, even as God is patient with me.
This work of walking with Jesus, of growing in grace and knowledge, of producing the fruit of the Spirit – it is God’s work. With tireless devotion, with patient persistence, with wisdom and power and grace, God is creating beauty in the lives of His own.
Rest assured, dear child of God, you will never be given up on. There is always hope, because the God of hope is committed to you. And that person you love – God loves them immeasurably more than you do. He will not abandon the work He began.
How does God’s patience with you impact your view of yourself? Your relationships with others?
Related Posts:
Be Patient
Redefining Success, Part 1
Redefining Success, Part 2
by MeredithNMills | Feb 8, 2015 | Uncategorized
“It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your steadfast love in the morning, and Your faithfulness by night” Psalm 92:1-2.
What was the first thought on your mind this morning? What were the first words out of your mouth? Do you realize, child of God, that you were greeted this morning with His steadfast love? When you awoke, you faced a day enveloped by His love for you. And tonight, as you lay your head on your pillow, can you see how His faithfulness carried you through the day?
That’s not my normal way of thinking on any given morning or evening. More often when I awake, my thoughts are on the details of the day ahead, or on wondering how I’m going to make it through when I’m starting off the day exhausted.
And at night, well, at night I’m usually just glad the day is done. We survived. We got some of the insurmountable “to do list” done. And tomorrow we’ll do it all over again.
But oh, the bigger picture I’m missing!
Each day, God greets me with steadfast, immovable lovingkindness. The whole day is undergirded with His vast, unchangeable love (Eph 3:17-19).
Our trials are understood by our compassionate High Priest (Heb 4:15-16). Our struggles are accompanied by sufficient grace (2 Cor 12:9). Our battles are are met with the assurance that Jesus has already conquered (Rom 8:37). Needs are opportunities for Him to show Himself strong for us (Eph 3:20-21). No trial, no heartache, no sin, no busyness, nothing…nothing can change the fact that we are passionately, relentlessly loved by our Abba Daddy. By Jesus who died to make us His. Viewing my day in that light changes everything.
And each night, I have another day of history with God to attest to the fact that He is faithful. He met my every need today (Phil 4:19). All my physical needs. All my emotional needs. All my spiritual needs. He has kept every promise. He has been immovable, unchangeable, all-powerful, all-knowing, ever present. He is faithfully working to bring good out of evil, beauty out of ashes, healing out of brokenness. This is my God. Always, always faithful.
Will you praise Him with me? It is good for us to praise Him. He deserves it. And we are benefitted by it. When we focus on Him, on what He is doing and has done, we find gratitude, humility and joy springing up as a result.
How has He shown His love or faithfulness to you today?
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:4-7).
