Follow God's Lead

I have been dwelling on last night's post, especially some of the last lines.  "He sees.  What you can't.  Rest in Him."  I began to think of just how true that is...all the many times in my life when I was worried or felt inadequate, only to learn that He knew what He was doing all along.  In hindsight it seems so clear, so obvious, but when you are in the moment and you can't see what the outcome will be, it can be a little hard to swallow.  Sometimes, I wish life had a fast-forward button, so you could see the end result before you made the decision.  However, if it did, we would never have to learn to REST in Him or trust that He knows best.  In my experince, trusting Him to lead you to the right place makes for an incredibly exciting adventure!

One of my favorite stories from the Bible is the story of David, especially the beginning of the story.  I love the fact that he was a shepherd who seemed quite content to stay a shepherd.  He was not famous or noteworthy....just doing his job, day in and day out, and obviously using his time at work to worship God.  He trusted the Lord, and saw evidence of his power working when predators came near his sheep.  His confidence was in the Lord, and I think he was pretty happy with that.  I imagine that he didn't have lofty aspirations or thoughts of grandeur- he knew what his job was, and he did it.  What he didn't know was that God was using all his experiences to shape him into someone that he never imagined he could be.  God saw his heart and promoted him...and not just to head sheep herder either.  God had David in mind for a much bigger job.  Famous warrior, beloved king of Israel, a man after God's heart.  Reading about David's adventures and escapades, I am always drawn back to the beginning of his story.  The prophet Samuel, looking for the next king.  Meeting all of David's tall, handsome brothers, and God reminding Samuel that, "Hey, to me, what's on the outside doesn't matter at all.  I look for what's inside, what's in the heart."  When Samuel saw David, he probably thought, maybe for just a moment, that God was making a mistake.  If David was at all like the rest of us, he probably thought, "Who, me???  Old Samuel here is making a huge mistake!"  Yet God made David into all he could be because He saw what David couldn't...and David followed his lead and experienced all that God had for him!

Fast forward a few thousand years to my story.  I was the shy, quiet girl who was quite content to stay in Wisconsin for her entire life.  I didn't have lofty aspirations, and I certainly never thought that I would do anything "exciting."  God must have seen something in me that I didn't know was there.  I don't think He saw anything special in me...He saw the potential that He put in me to do His work here on earth, the same potential He has put in all of us.  I was apprehensive and scared, but I was willing.  I decided that I wanted to find out what it was that He was seeing for me...and am I ever glad that I did!  Now, I am not famous like David, and I am certainly not queen of anything, but my life has become an amazing adventure of finding out what God has for me around every bend and turn.  He has turned my life into something wild, crazy, and beautiful, and I am loving every moment!  All of our stories are different, but one thing is the same...the things God dreams for us, the things He sees, are always greater, bigger, and much more exciting than anything we could imagine for ourselves.  When we don't understand the circumstances or feel confused, we can choose to follow God's lead...and eventually see the amazing things that He already does!