listening to God
It's been five and a half months since I packed up my house, simplified my life and began to actively seek God first, in everything I do. Five months since I felt led to travel our beautiful country, to live my passion, to listen for the prompting of the holy spirit and step forward in faith at every opportunity - consciously using my talents and giftings to glorify God.
Obviously my perfectly boxed little plan that I had in my head, when I felt led to do this - is not at all how God saw this - and that's a good thing. I found that to much 'boxing and planning' limits growth and opportunity - sometimes you grow where you're planted and sometimes you need to get out of your comfort zone like a tree that gets root bound in a little pot but grows and is fruitful if replanted.
So far it has been an amazing journey. I have learnt that God can (and absolutely will) use us anywhere and everywhere if we simply listen. That as much as we may want to fix things for people - only God can really do that, only He can heal the broken, hurting people of this fallen world. However if we let Him, God will use our life stories and testimonies to help and encourage the people he brings along our path. Sometimes we may give someone a word that speaks into thier situation, other times we may simply give someone a hug at just the right time or be a listening ear for someone to share thier worries. Sometimes we may walk the road beside someone and encourage them for a lifetime, and others we may have a 5 hour deep conversation and then walk away. Often we don't even know that we have made an impact or planted a seed in someones life - and I have learnt to be okay with that, knowing that God is in control, omnipresent and omnipotent.
Often it is the seemingly small acts that make the biggest differences. I think the happier we are the more we listen to God and his plans and purposes for our lives, when we stop thinking about our own needs and desires as a means to success and realise that our main purpose here is to love God and love people . When we take away all the labels we place on ourselves and on others and let God lead us (rather then just telling him our requests). You dont need to be a pastor to minister to people, you dont need to be a counselor to listen, you dont need to be a social worker to help someone in need. Our job is simply to be obedient and available and love the people God places in our path. He is our physician, our comforter, our healer, our councelor, our advocate, our provider. He steps in between our faliures and insecurities. We are his beloved children and his plans for each and everyone of us is unique and far better than anything we could imagine.
Obviously my perfectly boxed little plan that I had in my head, when I felt led to do this - is not at all how God saw this - and that's a good thing. I found that to much 'boxing and planning' limits growth and opportunity - sometimes you grow where you're planted and sometimes you need to get out of your comfort zone like a tree that gets root bound in a little pot but grows and is fruitful if replanted.
So far it has been an amazing journey. I have learnt that God can (and absolutely will) use us anywhere and everywhere if we simply listen. That as much as we may want to fix things for people - only God can really do that, only He can heal the broken, hurting people of this fallen world. However if we let Him, God will use our life stories and testimonies to help and encourage the people he brings along our path. Sometimes we may give someone a word that speaks into thier situation, other times we may simply give someone a hug at just the right time or be a listening ear for someone to share thier worries. Sometimes we may walk the road beside someone and encourage them for a lifetime, and others we may have a 5 hour deep conversation and then walk away. Often we don't even know that we have made an impact or planted a seed in someones life - and I have learnt to be okay with that, knowing that God is in control, omnipresent and omnipotent.
Often it is the seemingly small acts that make the biggest differences. I think the happier we are the more we listen to God and his plans and purposes for our lives, when we stop thinking about our own needs and desires as a means to success and realise that our main purpose here is to love God and love people . When we take away all the labels we place on ourselves and on others and let God lead us (rather then just telling him our requests). You dont need to be a pastor to minister to people, you dont need to be a counselor to listen, you dont need to be a social worker to help someone in need. Our job is simply to be obedient and available and love the people God places in our path. He is our physician, our comforter, our healer, our councelor, our advocate, our provider. He steps in between our faliures and insecurities. We are his beloved children and his plans for each and everyone of us is unique and far better than anything we could imagine.
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