I picked up Donald Miller again today.
I decided that after a day where I came home in "one of those moods",
I needed to get my head back in the game.
I will also note that a nap was needed and taken.
However, before I got to napping, I got to a nugget.
One of those pieces that just hits you where you need to be struck.
In this journey we call life
or faith
or perhaps an intertwined combination of the two,
it seems that we often have high expectations of God.
And don't get me wrong.
He is good.
He wants to bless us.
He takes care of our needs.
But it's like we forget how blessed we are and take it all for granted.
When things take unexpected turns,
or we are let down
or people hurt us
or we feel alone
we fight to really live what it is we say we believe.
If "the joy of the Lord is my strength"
than why do difficult circumstances have such powerful control over my perspective on life?
It's not that the truth about God has changed.
There is something, however, about how I view what I know to be truth.
And in walks Donald Miller.
"The truth is that there are a million steps, and we don't even know what the steps are, and worse, at any given moment we may not be willing or even able to take them; and still worse, they are different for you and me and they are always changing. I have come to believe that the sooner we find this truth beautiful, the sooner we will fall in love with the God who keeps shaking things up, keeps changing the path, keeps rocking the boat to test our faith in Him, teaching us to not rely on easy answers, bullet points, magic mantras, or genies in lamps, but rather in His guidance, His existence, His mercy, and His love."
For the record, the piece about "His love" was in italics.
It needs emphasis.
God hasn't changed -
even if the way He's getting me to where I am going has.
We have sung "Guide Me O My Great Redeemer" the last few Sundays in church.
And it's quite fitting, I think.
It's a journey.
The travel route is different for each one.
But the Guide is the same.
And in that there is joy.
And a beautiful truth.
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing that, Sara :)
Yeah, Donald Miller is pretty much the source of all "smack you in the face" literature. It's a whole new genre. - you're pretty good at it yourself. ;)
I think that's a compliment...although I'm not sure that my intention is "slap you in the face..." Maybe promote a "hmmm" or a "heart-check"...yeah? Unless you're smacking me in the face"... :) In that case, hmm. Yeah, I'm no good at threats.
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