Have you ever gone through seasons in life when it is so hard to see which way to go? You just can’t seem to figure out the best plan of action or the answer to your problem. Every day you question and wonder what is going on and you just can’t see what God is trying to show you. You just get so frustrated and confused. Am I resonating with anyone out there?

I have had several situations in my life that brought me to my knees and begging for answers. I have cried for help many, many times because I wanted God’s truth in my life. His way is the way I want! He knows far better than I do what is best for me, so that is why I go to Him for answers.

I am learning so much from a book by John Eldredge called “Moving Mountains.” Since  my life has been filled with so much chaos, anxiety and fear, I have had a hard time hearing God. John states, “Pressure nearly always guarantees you will have a hard time discerning what God is saying, if you hear anything at all. Pressure clenches up your heart and soul and ties all your insides in rubber-band knots. Even if God is shouting, it is unlikely he can get through to you because of the chaos.” (I’m picturing Him waving His hands and shouting like you do at a sporting event and I can’t hear him because of all the noise.)

I know that my life and my mind have been filled with so many things that I haven’t been able to hear God in the past. And, my constant attempts to “figure things out” haven’t helped either! Eldredge says it best, “The key to receiving answers to prayer for guidance is to let go of our constant attempts to figure things out.” Stress and pressure cause me to panic. I have to talk myself down off the ledge of spiraling out of control. I have to push the pause button and remember to go before the Lord and align myself under Him and ask for His help. (I talked about aligning ourselves in the post “Fixer Upper”)

This is where God’s word is so important. There are several verses in Daniel that tell us that God reveals mysteries.

Daniel 2:28 “But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.”

Daniel 2:22 “He reveals deep and hidden things, He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.”

Daniel 2:19 “During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.”

Listen, I know how hard it is to deal with unanswered prayers. But, part of the problem is me. I want answers now! I want things to get better now! I want people to change now! I want to tell God that my plan of action is the best way to do things now! But as Eldredge says, I have to quit my constant attempt to figure things out. (And might I add, quit telling God what to do!)

“And can I add how fruitless it is to seek God’s counsel while you are privately committed to one course of action over all others? We must surrender our agendas. We must surrender our “best thoughts” on the matter. We must surrender our secret desires. When we do this, we are in a much better place to receive God’s thoughts on the situation.” Eldredge

So, I need to examine my motives when I go before the Lord. Usually I am a desperate woman who is in need of some relief and I can’t think straight. (I like to call it “hormone hell.”) I have been that way a lot lately because of increased anxiety in my life. So, I need to go before the Lord and apologize for my behavior and ask Him to shed some light on my situation. I need to surrender what I want and what I think will make me feel better. And as I go through the hard times, I need to claim Psalm 119:6, “May your unfailing love be my comfort.” 

I am trying some new things in my life to deal with my anxiety. I have known for awhile that I needed to give up Diet Mountain Dew—but I did not want to dew it. (Ha Ha!) I knew I was addicted. I really felt like the Lord was tapping me on the shoulder and telling me to give it up and I was resisting big time. It was a stronghold in my life. I also knew that I needed to make some dietary changes as well. So, I made the plunge and gave up the Dew and have started making the dietary changes. (It’s so nice to have a daughter who is a dietician helping you. That Purdue education is paying off! Boiler Up!)

I got to the point that I was sick and tired of being sick and crazy! The Lord has shown me through scripture that He is right there with me. I have to make these changes in my life if I am going to have much of a life to live. He has given me confirmation that this is what I should do.

                               “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,

                                      along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;

                                I ’twill turn darkness into light before them

                                     and make the rough places smooth.

                               These are the things I will do;

                                      I will not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16

I am counting on the Lord to get me through all the changes I need to make. I am praying for Him to guide me in the way I should go. It is so easy for me to come up with my own plan of action without consulting Him on the correct plan of action for me. I have to surrender my thoughts to Him and ask for HIs guidance before I make any decisions. And, that is really hard for a girl like me to do! I get so wrapped up in fixing myself that I forget to look to the One who created me and has the answers for what is best for me.

So, any questions I have or decisions I need to make, I am going to proclaim Genesis 1:3, “Let there be light!” Father, shine your light on what I need to know and do. “Surrender is the key. Yield your desires and plans and hunches to the living God so that you might receive from him something far better: His counsel. Consecrate the matter; consecrate the process of decision making too!” Eldredge

In light of Billy Graham’s passing, I just want to say that when I look at him, I see someone who followed the Lord with all his heart. That man spent his life sharing God’s word to millions of people. He had a burden for people to know Christ as their Savior and have a personal relationship with Him. This past week I have watched so many clips of him preaching and seen how many lives he touched. I just can’t quit crying! That man and the message of receiving Christ as our Savior brought people from death into life. People that would have gone to hell are now in heaven because Billy wasn’t afraid to preach God’s word. 

When he got to heaven, I know that he heard, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” (And there were probably a million people waiting for him at the pearly gates!) I don’t know if we will ever have another man quite like him on this earth, but each one of us can share the good news of Jesus in our own circle of friends and in our communities. People need Jesus. Our world needs Jesus. That fact will never change. So, let’s go and be the hands and feet of Jesus and share the good news to as many people as we can. I know that when I get to heaven I want to hear, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” I want my Heavenly Father to be proud of me.

Until next time dear friends….

Matthew 28:19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”