Wednesday, January 20, 2010

DREAM DELIVERER



How did I ever pass college statistics?  Its intricate details of mathematical equations amazed and perplexed me.  Its formulas and problems seemed so infinite, so mysterious, so distanced.   

I am not a math person, and with much intimidation, I took the class twelve years ago, only to satisfy degree requirements.  Today, I am still in awe of its challenges and gladly admit that only by God's grace did I overcome them and pass the course.

Only by His grace did I deal with the samplings, variables, and probabilities.  God is good and merciful!

I respect disciplines that deal with numbers.  I understand them little, but appreciate those who do and use their knowledge to help others.

I have very limited knowledge of algebraic equations, statistical probabilites, etc.  But one thing I truly comprehend:  Such equations and probabilites, their designs, and their designers do not compare to the wisdom, depth, ways, and mystery of God.  He designed our world and its capabilites to yield to mathematical equations.  God's ways pass all human understanding.  His thoughts, His creation, transcend, perplex, and overwhelm the greatest statisticians.

God is infinite.  God is the Master Designer of all good things.  God is wisdom.  God is holy.  God is truth.  And, God is personal.

Our Father God, with His personal application, has His Own way of showing us His ways.  He has given us His holy word and the Holy Spirit to teach us and lead us in every area of our lives. I often remind myself of the Psalmist's revelation that even our steps are planned by our heavenly Father.  So, why should we ever glance from the Lord's especial prepared path or question His limitless, interpersonal wisdom?  In our humanness, we all seem to have a weakness for stumbling through life's fog and wanting to find our own way. 

"If I can just make this change in my life, things will be easier."  "If I can somehow make this idea work, my relationships will be smoother."  If I could just have God's blessings in this area of my life, I know I would be happy."

If. . . .If I had a hundred dollars for every time I tried on my own to improve my life and find a better way to do things, I would be a very rich woman by now; i.e., my own pride and ignorance have escorted me into the valley of pain many times, the sum of which has equaled a very accurate dose of humility and an unpleasant adjustment of my attitude.

God is so faithful!  If you are a regular reader of my posts, you know I marvel at His faithfulness, and I hope not to sound like a broken record, but the patience and longsuffering of God simply amazes me, and I have a hard time withholding praise for the personal meaning of that truth!

God is faitfhul. He is the One Who speaks in your life, even when you have made that wrong turn, even when your wrong turn has sent you in circles or routed you into a ditch.

God is faithful.  Through His loving Spirit, He speaks very intimately to us when we carelessly find ourselves on a dead end drive.  He is the One Who interrupts our own well-meant, but delirious plans. 

God is faithful.  He is the fire sent from heaven that suddenly licks its flame into your dearest dreams and destroys the "I" in them all.  He is the still, small voice that wrecks your direction and changes your life.  He is the Author of your faith, Who at will turns your pages to write His own lines, so your story will end the way He wrote it ages ago.

Yes, precious one, God is faithful.

Were it not for the patience and longsuffering of God I would be in the middle of the Mojave by now without water, food, or shelter.

He knows my frame. My heavenly Father knows my good intentions, though very unworthy, have always been pursued with a dusty, fragile, imperfect fleshly temple that reasoned and dreamed its way into a dizzy drama.

As a young wife and mother of twenty-four years old, I reasoned my way into nursing school.  "We need financial stability."  "The ministry is so hard."  "A nursing career will bring peace to our home."  "I can help others and help my family at the same time."

I mused myself into a mess.  I talked myself into near tragedy.  I ignored the precious, still small voice that told me something was wrong with the whole idea and to let it go. 

I enrolled in school.  Little I did prospered.  God refused to bless my plan.  My little ones suffered.  My husband suffered.  I suffered.  Yet, I persevered, being the stubborn girl I can be. 

Finally, I awoke one morning violently ill.  I vomited almost incessantly and was rushed to the hospital, where I was diagnosed with severe dehydration and dangerously low blood pressure. 

It took one month of recovery, which required my withdrawal from school.  I knew the Lord had had His way, and though repentent, I had a small fragment of hope of returning to my dream.  The fleshly, selfish nature of Andrea still did not want to let go. 

One afternoon, I sat on my sofa, questioning if I should go back.  I started planning to call the school and reenter.  My fleshly reasoning was hemming me back into the corner of disobedience.

Suddenly, in the midst of my daydreams, I heard my little sons crying out from our hallway.  I ran as quickly as I could to find they had found my blood pressure cuff, and in playing with it, had it wrapped around Chris's arm.  It was cutting off his circulation and was so tightly fixed and tangled I couldn't get it off.  I cried out to the Lord for help, and with God's intervention, His wisdom, I was able to free Chris from the product of my own rebellious nature.

I held and clung to my children and thanked God for His deliverance.  Later, I called the school.  I spoke with the secretary in the nursing department and told her I had some books and equipment I wanted to sell.  And I never once looked back.

Friends, we do not understand the reason behind God's voice.  But we really do not need to understand.  We only need obedience and trust in His will.  His will is always His best.

Not His better.  His best.  What a perfect "selah moment!"  Stop, and calmly think about it. Rest in that truth.  Absorb the reality of your possibilities with God's best.

Your Designer, your Architect, your Provider holds your best in His hands.

Dear, precious one, if you are struggling today with your own dreams, if you know in your heart you are hearing God's voice, as the Apostle Paul did, when the Lord asked Paul why he insisted on going against the grain (Acts 26:14, The Message), then take a few quiet moments to drink in the Lord's unconditional love for you and contemplate how through that divine love He gives you all good things.

If through struggle and conflict you are weary from keeping a genuine divine dream alive, take heart of that same love, knowing the One who birthed in you His desire will most surely bring it to fulfillment.  You have had realization in your spirit.  And, God, Who planted the vision, will pour the oil and wine in His season.

Perhaps you have broken dreams.  You heard God's voice in the past.  His vision for your life has now become a road invisible, filled with fog.  The enemy somehow foiled the Lord's plans for you through sin or discourgement or other devices.  Satan uses those broken dreams to bring you to further discouragement and make you feel like a failure, but I assure you, dear friend, that the Lord is your healer and restorer.  Jehovah, the sovereign Lord, can "put breath into you and make you live again!" (Ezekiel 37:5, NLT).  Call His name!  Forget your past!  Forgive yourself!  Have new hope!   

Receive God's best for you today.  He loves you so.

25 comments:

  1. Yes, God is our dream deliverer, if the dream we insist on pursuing is not from Him. And He is the dream realizer, giving us the delights of our hearts, if the dream is from Him. Yes, it works both ways.... and I praise God our life is in the hands of the only wise One.

    Thank you for another well written post, and for sharing the near disaster of your disobedient choice. Thankfully God has delivered you!

    Like you, God's faithfulness is something I continue to hold on to for the year that has just begun.

    He who began the good work will be faithful to bring it to completion.

    Love
    Lidj

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  2. Thank you for that sweet reminder, God has GOOD plans for us. I am so very glad you post!!
    I get so excited when I see you have posted something new......love hearing what God is pouring into you.

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  3. A lovely reading today. We always need to remember that our plan isnt necessarily God's plan. When the two meet it is wonderful and we are blessed indeed.

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  4. Oh, there is so much here, dear Sister!!

    I too revel and stand in awe of His faithfulness and how He delivers us to the place of His purposes as we stay surrendered and obedient to His leading........What a wonderful, patient, merciful, compassionate, faithful Lord is He!! Hallelujah!

    Thank you for another inspiring, encouraging post!

    Sweet Blessings!
    Jackie

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  5. The past can pull us down if we look back instead of looking up to the Maker of all things.

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  6. Wow. What can I add? If anyone can speak of such things, you certainly can! What a year it's been, and for you to testify to God's faithfulness & love just blesses my socks off.

    Amen.

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  7. Your blog is nourishing soul food. I've enjoyed every bite!

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  8. Oh, Andrea, I just read this with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes. As Jackie has said, there is SO much here.

    Thank you for sharing yourself with us. I'm sending friends your way to read this blessing!

    Thanks, too, for your sweet encouragement on my blog.

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  9. His Spirit pours out of you and flows onto the pages of your post...it's just amazing.
    Thank you for your incredible witness!
    God bless you!
    Julie

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  10. Ahhhh.... you are already a writer.... Just give your loaves and fishes to Him and watch Him feed the multitudes. ;-) I have already been fed by your delightful lunch. ;-)
    Little is much when God is in it...

    Your new friend,
    Dixie

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  11. Andrea~
    AMEN!!!
    Bless you dearest sister in the Lord.

    Love in HIM~ Miss Jen

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  12. This is an awesome thought provoking post. I am so glad I jumped of here from "peace for the journey". I'll be back again soon.

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  13. Andrea,

    I thoroughly enjoyed this post as it is something that I struggle with myself. You have given me much to contemplate and pray about-thank you:)!

    Blessings,

    Kim

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  14. Andrea, wow, your story set my heart a'racing! I'm so happy God intervened! My friend, Laura, told me about your blog. It's lovely and uplifting. Thank you.

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  15. I was definately guided to this post dear friend! I was also struggling with the same issue of allowing God be my everything - in my stubborn nature, I too made myself quite ill. But I finally realized where I needed to be, right at HIS feet awaiting instructions!!

    Bless you dear sister in Christ,

    Maria

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  16. I just "happened" upon your blog and am so glad I did. I know it was not coincidence, but a divine appointment. Thank you for your sweet and uplifting words.
    God bless,
    BB from Ga.

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  17. Dear Andrea,

    I saw the title of this post last week but was not able to read it. WELL, the Lord knew what was going to unfold during that week, and He knew I needed to read this today! I am flabberghasted at how He speaks to us through different means. I am amazed that every single word in this post I needed to read! Wow! Thank you for allowing the Lord to speak through your life and blog.

    Blessings,

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  18. I am on a bit of an invisible path right now, but less worried about it than I once used to be. Faith grows in the shady seasons as long as we're moving forward with God and not back peddling. I personally know the difference between the two.

    I've really been giving a lot of attention to the Holy Spirit and his presence... hearing his prompts as they arrive. Rather than brush those "inklings" off as instinct, I lean into them to see if, in fact, all matches up with God's Word. If so, then I'm moving more fully into my "trust" of those prompts, believing them to be from God and not from self.

    Great teaching, per usual. May God's love for you, joy over you, and provision for you be abundant this week; may you sense his Spirit at every turn.

    peace~elaine

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  19. Hope you don't mind. I added a link to your blog to arise 2 write.
    andrea

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  20. Andrea, God has used your words to minister to my soul! I appreciate you sharing your story; it helped me remember a similar time in my life when I was trying to help out financially by going back to school to prepare to become a teacher. That was not what God had planned for me, however, and He let me know it. His wisdom is so clear, if only we listen and heed His leading.

    Jenn

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  21. Dearest Andrea,

    I am always encouraged when I stop by for a visit. Facing a bit of discouragement today about some *new things* the LORD is doing in my life, I read your words:

    "Dear, precious one, if you are struggling today with your own dreams, if you know in your heart you are hearing God's voice, as the Apostle Paul did, when the Lord asked Paul why he insisted on going against the grain (Acts 26:14, The Message), then take a few quiet moments to drink in the Lord's unconditional love for you and contemplate how through that divine love He gives you all good things."

    I believe this paragraph was written specifically for me. I thank you for following the LORD's leading and sharing it. Thank you. God bless you. Going to drink in the Lord's unconditional love for me and believe Romans 8:28 in my life.

    With thanksgiving to the LORD for you,
    Lora

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  22. Wheeee! This I needed today- how wonderful is God??? I agree with all you say, and though I can't see whet His Plans for me are at present, except that I've somehow side-stepped them, I know He won't let me go. Lucky He doesn't- lucky us to have Him as our God.

    Thank you for this!

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  23. what a vulnerable story about your son and the cuff.
    thank goodness you got it off!

    this blog is just so precious. thank you for pouring
    your heart out for all of us readers.

    we appreciate you.

    i feel like i am only supposed to 'salt' on my blog and
    love that if someone wants deeper truth, they can come
    here!

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  24. Thank you...such wonderful inspiration and hope.

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Thank you for visiting. I cherish your thoughts. You are special to me, but most of all, you are special to God, who loves you with everlasting love. May your life be swept into His joy and peace.

In the Wonderful Love of Christ our Savior,

Andrea