Following hard after God means surrendering our desires, hopes, and fears to Him. Often, we limit our own growth by chasing after our agendas, and ignoring God's agenda for us. Being able, and willing, to align ourselves to God, despite our opposing desires, lies at the heart of an authentic Christian walk.
We are familiar with the promise from Jeremiah 29:11 that declares God has great plans for us, "to prosper us, and not to harm us, to give us hope and a future." Perhaps we are less familiar with the follow-on verses that state we are to be in relationship with God in order for these plans to unfold: "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:12-14a). It takes all our heart to find Him and to align to His good and blessed plans.
This Saturday a live seminar is being held to allow a deeper dive into a major growth area for living life as a Christian: listening, and aligning, to God. We will discuss how to discern His will for our lives using a rubric for re-assessing our own personal desires and contrasting those with a path fully surrendered to God. We will probe the heart of God in His 'No' and analyze our own barriers to gracefully and fearfully stepping into His will, which is the only true will for our lives "and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32).
Registration for this free event is open until noon Friday - click the Events tab above to register
Reflection
1. Have you made a decision in the past 12 months where you sought God's input into making the right decision? Were you able to discern His will? How do you know? How has that decision played out?
2. What do you think is the biggest barrier to accurately discerning God's will in your life? Why does that barrier exist? How can it be overcome?
3. Have you had an experience of leaping into a decision without enough forethought? Looking back, what signs were there then that you didn't fully appreciate at that time? Do any of those signs reemerge when you make decisions nowadays?