Have you ever stood in the shampoo aisle and looked at the huge variety of choices and felt sort of stumped? Like, should I go for shiny hair or maybe bouncy hair or should I emphasize my curls or maybe build volume? The thing is, if you flip over those bottles, despite the grandiose promises on the packaging, almost all of them have very similar ingredients. The choices are a lot narrower than they appear at first glance.
If you recall, I shared that I was chosen to participate in Holley Gerth's God-sized Dream Team. If you don't, you can read about it here.
I still feel overwhelmed by all the choices.
Just like the shampoo aisle though, the mirage of lots of choices is just that - a mirage. Why? Because it all comes down to answering this question - am I will to take the next step of obedience?
That's the real choice.
I know five year plans are popular, but if you'll notice, God doesn't really give anyone a five year plan in the Bible.
In fact, there is an alarming lack of details in the calls God placed on peoples' lives recorded in Scripture. At least, alarming to me. ;)
Abraham was told to just go. God didn't tell him where - just to a land God would show him. The man did not even get a north, south or west direction - just go.
Joseph had a great vision of what his life would be, but then he was thrown into a pit; sold into slavery; languished in jail for a crime he didn't commit and when he helped someone else, was forgotten for more years in that same jail. God never explained these events to Joseph while he was going through them or how this was supposed to all work out with that early vision.
Moses and the children of Israel were led BY GOD to the edge of the Red Sea, only to find the Egyptians hot on their trail. That probably didn't seem like a really good decision when they saw the seemingly impenetrable wall of water on one side and angry Egyptians intent on their annihilation on the other.
God always knows His plans for us, but He doesn't seem very big on giving us the details. He just asks us to put aside our fears and obey. The results are up to Him - our only job is to step out in faith and obedience.
You'll notice that when the priests were told to walk into the raging Jordan River when they crossed over into the Promised Land, the waters didn't part until their feet hit the water. If they would have stayed on the shore, fingers clinging to the rocks for safety, waiting for things to be "safe," they would have never gotten across - never entered their Promised Land.
God has a disconcerting habit of not revealing the next step until we take the first one.
So, while I still feel somewhat overwhelmed by which direction I should go toward my God-sized dream or really what that encompasses besides just writing, my choice is really quite simple: will I obey or will I allow feeling overwhelmed to paralyze me with the fear of choosing incorrectly?
God has graciously allowed me to be part of a team of other dreamers - I believe to help me along the path and narrow my focus on what HE has in store for me. But in order to fully realize His plans for me, I have to pry my fingers off the rocks on the shore and step into the churning water. Only then will my path be made clear.
I'll leave you with a couple quotes that God's used to speak to me lately. I hope they encourage you too.
"Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than your own weaknesses."
~ Mother Teresa
"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strengths. "
~ Corrie Ten Boom
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are made for." ~ Unknown
Where is God asking you to set sail to? Are you still anchored at the shore?
~ Blessings, Bronte
p.s. I'm not sure how many blogs I'll be posting here in December, as I am going to be overhauling my blog and may move to Wordpress. All part of that process! :)
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