So many things to do, so many things to accomplish...But it seems I keep coming back to You. The more I do, and the more I strive, the more I realize my refuge is in your eyes. I feel it pulling on my soul, I feel the longing, and the desire.
Mark 8:36 ~ For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
What is our spiritual profit it we aim only to do thing in themselves? We can never find inner fulfillment in our art, in our accomplishments, in our work if they are a central focus. Only God can give purpose to life, for He is the only thing worth living for.
I praise Him for we are wonderfully made. All with gifts, and talents to proclaim His wonder.
O Lord, there is nothing more awesome that You. And what meaning has life without 'Your' work? Surely, all is vanity without You. Come Lord breathe upon us with your Spirit. Guide us, and use us for Your will.
* * * * * * *
Ever feel a longing for something bigger than yourself? Something you know you must have in order to be alive inside? Ever feel like there is some purpose calling you? That perhaps there is more of a use for your gifts than just using them for yourself? Ever wonder what the purpose is in your art?
Maybe you do feel the urge inside. And I think any artist who has ever painted their heart out on canvas, or lost themselves (even if for a moment) in their craft...they know there is some door waiting to be opened, some purpose in their art, greater than just an expression of their emotions.
You see man has these natural instincts, and his imagination can soar beyond this earth. Some may say that imagination has no real purpose, or weight to it, because there is no other life more wonderful, and no higher being so marvelous as we can imagine. This is not true. I believe we were all made to proclaim the glory of an Awesome God. A God who is larger than the universe, and yet personal enough to guide man individually and be His friend.
We have been taught that that man creates his own world, and what he creates is the extent of the beauty and wonder within. This is also a misconception. The humanistic mindset of this current world, and impression on the artist mind, is very drear indeed. I think that a lot of artists believe this lie though. A lot of them subconsciously live it out. I fear for them, because I believe that while they think they are creating their own 'reality' they are really creating their own 'trap'.
Man is getting caught up in Counterfeit Reality. Creativity without a strong faith based in Christ, a good world view, and a true sense of reality, can be extremely dangerous. The creative/artistic man has a choice, either to seek God and to find Him and humble his heart to follow what will ultimately, fill it; or he will choice vanity and pursue a life of 'control over his own life', which will lead him to a destiny of emptiness and creative destruction.
But the fact is, man longs for more. He knows there is a purpose for his gift, but he does no know what. The artist's soul thirsts for a waters of inspiration, and longs for a chance to change his world. In a sense the Artist has an instinct to do great things with his or her art.
Because first of all, 'art' is made to be seen, hear, and appreciated. Art is not something that should hide it's self away never to be admired. Art that is not admired, observed, experienced, is abused art, because art is meant to touch the seer, listener etc..If art does not 'touch' or 'avoke', whether thoughts, emotions, or feelings....it is not art.
Either you create for your own eyes, for the eyes of others, or for God...And it is possible to do all of the above, in an honorable and God honoring way. But the fact is 'art' is an expression of something more than the medium used. It is more than that. "Artists are Prophets of Their view of the World around them". I think it's kind of silly when a artistic person says that "they are not a preacher" or that "they are not qualified or created with the gift to preach the gospel"; they may not in the sense of speech and verbal sermons, but that does not make them any less qualified or designed. Because most artist's don't know is; they are prophets through their art.
Every soul, and almost especially the 'creative soul' ;) longs for something to be inspired by, and to wrap their creativity around. But without Jesus, and the hope and new purpose that He brings/stirs, the Artist paints the ugliness and hopelessness of what he or she observes and knows to be true around them. The World inspires that work of the Artist without Christ, and not always in a showy,flashy, way. Without the hope and purpose in Christ, the Artist creates and proclaims the darkness around him or her; he paints a picture of the hopelessness, the sins of humanity, the self focused, eternity lacking, world that he knows.
Because you see, Artists are Prophets. Their worldviews fill the archives of the earth, their creations conform civilizations, their poems revitalize ideals.
Christ is the Hope of the Artist. Artists are extremely important, because what they create is what effects society and what changes the world around them. Look at a civilization and an empire, and you will see that what lasts of their ruins is not pools of thoughts, but their art, and it is by their art that we can define and better understand them.
Imagine what would be left of most of present day America? Streets of high buildings, and sidewalks of graffiti, the messages of desire, lust, and hopelessness crying out from what's left behind. Shelves of movies that survive to tell of a culture of rebellion and unfulfilled longing; of kids pushed aside, cursing at their parents, or teens who feel an apathy for life, of adults who live lives 'gaining the whole world', and yet fall into deep depression, because it never can fill or save their souls...
The Soul was created for more. Preachers and teachers have talked about the longing man has inside, the longing for something bigger than himself, something that will liberate him, something that will comfort him, something that will save him, and inspire him...But yet, a lot of people who claim to be 'Christians' who 'believe in God' continue on being inspired by a humanistic worldview.
The not only strive on their own, for their own, but they 'want' to.
A lot of Christians who are Artists. Believe in the reality of God. But still believe a lot of the lies they've been told by the World. They're hearts beat to a world focused, offense focused, or self focused beat, and they can never do enough, be enough, or create enough, to satisfy their souls.
We weren't meant to satisfy our own souls. Matter of fact, nothing was meant to satisfy our souls but God himself. The worst thing though...is for a person not to ever feel the 'symptoms' of longing. The need is always there, but the person has decided that they don't want God, His will, or His inspiration, and instead want to live for himself, or a worldly view on art.
God can knock, but He does not invade most times. It makes me think of the the rich man who came to Christ when He was on earth. He asked Him 'What must I do to inherit the kingdom of God', First Christ told him that He must keep his commandments, and the rich man said "I've have done so all my life", and then Christ told him to sell all he had, give it to the poor, and follow Him'. The rich man had much, and unwilling to do so, He turned and walked away. So the Lord said "Easier is it for a Camel go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven".
Even so, a person may believe in God, but He is not always willing to give up his idea of 'fulfillment' and lay down his ambition for worldly approval. The rich man's riches meant too much for him to give up, his position, his life style...it was too great to give up, it is possible He walked away thinking "Surely, he doesn't mean give it all up?"
There are some tempting and consuming aspects of the World and it's offers that sometimes hinders God's children from coming to Him. Unless a man is willing to let humble himself before God and truly believe and realizes that nothing can fill him up, unless he seeks God, and unless his longing for God exceeds that the longing for the World...He will never fulfill his destiny as an Artist.
The World's call and purpose for the Artist is second dibs to God's Calling. Don't settle for less than you were made. Only in Christ can you look in the mirror and know that there is more than what you see, only in Christ can you see life as meaningful, and appreciate the hope of eternity. God breathed into man, and then became his creation in order to save them. He died and rose again. He's all powerful and yet He will reach down to hold Your hand.
I pray that You find your inspiration in Christ. That He will lead You by His Spirit of Truth. That your Art may not just proclaim your own fleshly desires, or the will of the world, but instead the truth of the Word and 'The greatest Story ever told'. May God be the heart of your Art. May You find Him as the most awesome inspiration of your life...Fall in love with Him, and you will 'live for Him'.
Don't let the temptress of the World steal your gift. If you love her, you will 'live for her', and her end is the way of destruction. Do not let the temptation of 'glorification of self' consume your gift. If you love yourself more than anything, you will miss out on your calling to do big things with your gifts and talents.
May Your Soul longeth after the Lord.
As the Deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You. - Ps 42:1 NIV
(As the Deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after Thee...
What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Whoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and my words in this generation; of him
also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of His Father with
the holy angels. ~ Mark 8:36-38
My Soul longs for, You Lord, in a dry and weary land.
Let it Rain. Open up, open up, open up the flood gates.
Pour out Your Spirit on Me.
God of all, may You inspire Me.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Vain Imaginations: Deferred Hope
So I stand and watch you walk by,
the thoughts in my mind I try to hide,
I know the past can never be redone,
so I'll have to let go of what I've made
in my mind,
I'll bury it all in a grave, marked to say
"The things that I once thought". #goodbyetovainimaginations
Vain Imaginations...We are warned to fend them off, we are warned to keep ourselves from getting caught up in vain imaginations. But how often we do! I think the 'World' encourages 'Vain imaginations'; It encourages thinking things that aren't based on reality, but instead, the way we 'feel'.
Feelings cannot always be trusted, but it all depends on what they are based upon. If feelings are based on obedience and surrender to God, then God can use them to guard us, but if they are based on our own 'vain imaginations' or 'flesh' then they can get us into trouble.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the the pulling down of strongholds) 5 Casting down imaginations, reasoning, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
6 And having a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. 7. Do you look on things after the outward appearance? 2 Cor 10: 3-7
Do you ever imagine something so well that you think it is real? We human beings have a tendency to get ourselves in a lot of trouble because we believe things that aren't true. Sometimes we hope for things that will never be, or should never be, but there's something inside that makes us desire what 'we can't have' or the impossible. Sometimes this is just stirred by rebellion, other times I wonder what it is caused by...The Bible says in Proverbs 13:12 that 'Hope' deferred make the heart sick...It's true. You see I don't know what goes on in every person's head, but I know for a fact that some of us have a tendency to imagine things, believe in their significance (believe things, people, offers are as we imagine them) ...but when things fall apart, we hope and hope, that things will turn out, or we will happen as we imagine, but it's nothing more than getting caught up in vain imaginations...and having our hope deferred.
We are warned in the bible to guard our minds and hearts...When we imagine things, get caught up in our dreaming, and base the future on 'things we imagined' but not 'the will of God' we set ourselves up for an emotional let down. We weren't designed to believe or hope for things that won't come to pass. It's because we let our fleshes lead the way, it's because we let ourselves become attached to our own ideas for our lives, our relationships, etc...that we come to ruin.
A lot of times we let our own desire/ 'vanity' lead the way. Not that everything that we hope for that doesn't turn out, is based on unnatural desires, or 'bad' things, but the fact is... anything that isn't surrendered to God, is vanity. Your thoughts, your hopes, your dreams, your goals, your relationships...if they aren't surrendered to God, they are vanity...And so, as Solomon realized in His book of Ecclesiastes.
I said in mine heart, Go to now, "I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure; and behold this also is vanity....
In Ecclesiaties 2: 4-9 Solomon expresses how he was successful, and did many 'great' things for himself. Kind of like us, when we go to college, buy a house, land a good job...But Solomon realized that in the end, that it all was 'vain' to base his life on.
And in chapter 10 verse 14 he says "A fool...also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?"
If we cannot tell what shall be, why is it we put our hope so much in things that are uncertain? And usually, we put our hope in things that are vanity. Not that we cannot have desires, not that we shouldn't want things...but they are vain if we 'live' for them, before putting Christ first. I think anyone who isn't willing to place his life in the hands of Christ, not only clings to vanity, but puts his hope in vanity. This is where man puts his trust in 'Vain' Imaginations, before putting it in God himself.
Even those of us who say we give our lives to the Lord to do with them as he sees fit, even those of us who say we surrender our past, present, and future to Him...we tend to do exactly the opposite and put our faith in vain imaginations, or our own reasoning, or our own desire for vanity. Nothing, my friends is a holy desire, if it comes before God Himself, or 'His' will.
A lot of times we put our hope in things that aren't even feasible, or beneficial. Thank goodness, we have a God who watches over us, and is 'gracious' towards us. He is merciful, and faithful, even at times when we get distracted by the world and it's offers. What is important though...is that we come to realize 'what it is we are putting our hope in'. If we are putting our hope in things for our own glory, or putting our hope in things, or 'going hard' after things, people, jobs etc...and then ask God to 'bless' it after we have already set our heart on it...it's kind of like an oxymoron.
What I mean is, we sometimes take the whole 'relationship with God' thing, backwards. We act as if we should have the control over our own lives, and then ask God for his help when things aren't turning out as 'we' want, or plan. I think God wants us to come to Him first. I think the wiser way to go, is to come to God 'first' with our imaginations, our hopes, our goals, our dreams...and ask Him 'His' will. Because God's 'will' is always the 'best' way. Some people think that asking God's 'will' means putting our perfect dreams into a vending machine mixed with all sorts of other stuff , and watching what God will pull out for you. Inside, we don't admit it, but it really seems more like 'giving up on what we love'. This is because, we don't 'know' the truth on who God is, and a lot of us who have heard, don't 'believe' it.
People have the wrong view on God's Commands... God's will... and 'Surrender'.
They would rather not hear about finding their purpose in Christ, because frankly it just seems too 'ariy'. It's not what they want to hear...and they don't understand it.
I mentioned that some folks have the wrong view on God's commands. For example; a lot of teens have the wrong view on 'their own parents' commands. Now, not everyone has 'perfect' parents, but we must realize that 'God' 'is' the 'perfect', 'most awesome' 'parent'. He's not fallible, not ever changing in His love and desire for You, and He wants to you be full of 'Joy', 'Peace', and the overwhelming sense of 'belonging' to Him. He doesn't want you to feel like an orphan, and he doesn't want you to act like He isn't the 'inventor' of 'cool', because He is. The Lord has 'plans' for You. His plans aren't always what we imagine, because His plans are based on 'His' 'will'. It's God's 'will' and 'purpose' for You, to be a light in the darkness. It's God will and purpose for you, to not only draw closer to Him, but to become completely dependant, and fall in love with Him. You might be thinking, well, that's just what I don't want, to be 'dependant' or 'belong' to anybody.
Why do we think this way? Well, because we would rather live for our own vanity. What we don't realize is that vanity means (vapor)....Our vanities are passing away, here one day, and gone the other. Everything in life fades away, except the love of God. We are living for things, and pushing God away from consuming us, because we want to live for our 'vain imaginations', before all else. We have made gods, idols, out of our own plans for our lives, and our own hopes.
What we don't understand is that the only way to truly 'live' and 'be inwardly satisfied' is to be consumed by love. This is a great purpose of our lives. We do not live until we experience love. God is love, and love comes from God. And until we realize that we only live by surrendering to love, we will continue to live vane lives that revolve around ourselves...Vapor lives, that will not survive us after we are dead and gone.
It is all too common for us girls, and guys to plan things, imagine things, hope for things, that aren't God's will..and then blame Him for not making our plans succeed. We set our selves up to fall down. How? We do not let Him lead us each step of the way. We place our hope in our dreams, before we place our hope in the Lord. We believe in our own ability, more than we believe/Trust God. We don't trust Him with our lives, because we think we are being faithful to our goals or dreams, when in reality we are failing to live our Creator's will for our lives. A lot of times our own imagined fantasies, are more real and legit to us that the truth. Which is why we fight for them, at times against God. When in reality, God is trying to hand us something better, but we want what we have put our hope in, that which we don't realize will only defer our hope, and scar us with disappointment.
There is so much Joy, inner peace, and contentment to be found in a live totally dependant on God...if we put our hope in God, and place our faith in Him first; we will not let our hope be abused.
Also I know I mentioned that some folks don't have the proper view on God's commands, and Surrender. These are big enough topics to make separate blog posts about, but I will just start up on what I meant...
I know people, and meet people that wasted their lives away on 'vain imaginations' or 'false hope'. They believed the world could offer them the fulfillment that they desired, and trust me, none of them, who knew the truth didn't end up scared in some way. I feel bad for so many of the people out there, especially youth, who grew up without knowing or believing the truth, and so they set their hearts up to be broken, they bodies to be soiled, their hopes to be rotted. God tells us the right way to go in all things in His word, but there are some things that it does not say 'right out' this does not mean, that God has not showed us the right way to go about doing things, and living, so that we will not set our hearts on vain imaginations, or things that will only make our hope defer.
A lot of times we place our hope in vain imaginations, when we do not trust, or live according to the will of God, or by the wisdom He has given us, or those around us to council us. God tells us the right way to go, and gave us commands in scripture....SO that we will be blessed, healthy, fruitful, prosperous!! In life it's always a choice between...the 'bad' and the 'good' the 'good' and the 'best'. Sometimes we think that that we are wise because we aren't living a life of sin, but this doesn't mean that we are always choosing to live in the fullness of what God would have for us. A lot of times we let our own impatience, and desire lead us in settling for mediocre, when we could have 'the best'. But we can only have 'the best' through Christ.
If we put our hope in our own ability, we will realize that we let ourselves down. If we put our hope or faith in other people, we will come to realize that people can also let us down. If we put our hope in dreams, or earthly desires, we will realize that things are less certain than we imagine, and that nothing can fill the place of Christ. We may think we know what we want, and that that will fulfill us, but the truth is we resort to vain imaginations many a times, we go back to searching for things we shouldn't, because we have an emptiness inside that only God can fill up. We tell ourselves that's not it, it's because we were made to have what we desire, but truly it's because our hearts want something to pursue, to pursue something that will fill us, something that is worth placing our hope in, something that can take us to places greater than we see around us, something or someone that will make us feel more than a merit less soul. We want purpose, we want to fight for something, we want to imagine something that is greater than what we already have, we want a fulfilling relationship...and none of this is wrong, because honestly, what we want is something we overlook, something that we've been offered, but yet we replace...
Jesus.
Yes.
He is.
What you want.
What you need.
Proverbs 13:12 ~ Hope deferred makes the heart sick...but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Let's stop setting ourselves up for deferred hope. Let's instead put our faith, hope in God himself. Because He is what we really need.
See how Solomon sums his book up:
in chapter 12: verse 8, he says "Vanity of Vanities...all is Vanity"....
But He concludes thus:
12:13 'The End of the matter; all has been heard, Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of Man'....
We must be willing to 'surrender' our thoughts to God...We must not only, 'say' that we give our lives to Him, but we must not let ourselves get caught up in a worship (continual pondering) for what we want, when God tells us not to. The fact is we do this with things that is not God's will. We try to run our own lives, and we place our faith in things that have not be established or approved by God for our lives. We not only place our faith in things that are not reality, or beneficial possibility, but we let our own impatience, or flesh lead the way, and our imaginations soar without holy restraint. We must be willing to give our imaginations, our dreams our desires up to God.
God wants us to place our faith and hope in Him. He won't let us down. 'Seek Him'. Also, seek Him and He will give you the desires of your heart; because the heart that seeks after God, puts Him first, and God will give him the other things, because He knows they aren't what He 'serves'. Consider, that some of the things you may desire, that you feel God hasn't helped you attain, or given you, may be because the only reason you are seeking God, is to receive them. God wants to be God, in your life. Above your hopes, above your dreams, above your relationships, above yourself.
Don't let your hope be deferred!
The Lord knows those who put their Trust In 'Him'.
the thoughts in my mind I try to hide,
I know the past can never be redone,
so I'll have to let go of what I've made
in my mind,
I'll bury it all in a grave, marked to say
"The things that I once thought". #goodbyetovainimaginations
Vain Imaginations...We are warned to fend them off, we are warned to keep ourselves from getting caught up in vain imaginations. But how often we do! I think the 'World' encourages 'Vain imaginations'; It encourages thinking things that aren't based on reality, but instead, the way we 'feel'.
Feelings cannot always be trusted, but it all depends on what they are based upon. If feelings are based on obedience and surrender to God, then God can use them to guard us, but if they are based on our own 'vain imaginations' or 'flesh' then they can get us into trouble.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the the pulling down of strongholds) 5 Casting down imaginations, reasoning, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
6 And having a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. 7. Do you look on things after the outward appearance? 2 Cor 10: 3-7
Do you ever imagine something so well that you think it is real? We human beings have a tendency to get ourselves in a lot of trouble because we believe things that aren't true. Sometimes we hope for things that will never be, or should never be, but there's something inside that makes us desire what 'we can't have' or the impossible. Sometimes this is just stirred by rebellion, other times I wonder what it is caused by...The Bible says in Proverbs 13:12 that 'Hope' deferred make the heart sick...It's true. You see I don't know what goes on in every person's head, but I know for a fact that some of us have a tendency to imagine things, believe in their significance (believe things, people, offers are as we imagine them) ...but when things fall apart, we hope and hope, that things will turn out, or we will happen as we imagine, but it's nothing more than getting caught up in vain imaginations...and having our hope deferred.
We are warned in the bible to guard our minds and hearts...When we imagine things, get caught up in our dreaming, and base the future on 'things we imagined' but not 'the will of God' we set ourselves up for an emotional let down. We weren't designed to believe or hope for things that won't come to pass. It's because we let our fleshes lead the way, it's because we let ourselves become attached to our own ideas for our lives, our relationships, etc...that we come to ruin.
A lot of times we let our own desire/ 'vanity' lead the way. Not that everything that we hope for that doesn't turn out, is based on unnatural desires, or 'bad' things, but the fact is... anything that isn't surrendered to God, is vanity. Your thoughts, your hopes, your dreams, your goals, your relationships...if they aren't surrendered to God, they are vanity...And so, as Solomon realized in His book of Ecclesiastes.
I said in mine heart, Go to now, "I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure; and behold this also is vanity....
In Ecclesiaties 2: 4-9 Solomon expresses how he was successful, and did many 'great' things for himself. Kind of like us, when we go to college, buy a house, land a good job...But Solomon realized that in the end, that it all was 'vain' to base his life on.
And in chapter 10 verse 14 he says "A fool...also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?"
If we cannot tell what shall be, why is it we put our hope so much in things that are uncertain? And usually, we put our hope in things that are vanity. Not that we cannot have desires, not that we shouldn't want things...but they are vain if we 'live' for them, before putting Christ first. I think anyone who isn't willing to place his life in the hands of Christ, not only clings to vanity, but puts his hope in vanity. This is where man puts his trust in 'Vain' Imaginations, before putting it in God himself.
Even those of us who say we give our lives to the Lord to do with them as he sees fit, even those of us who say we surrender our past, present, and future to Him...we tend to do exactly the opposite and put our faith in vain imaginations, or our own reasoning, or our own desire for vanity. Nothing, my friends is a holy desire, if it comes before God Himself, or 'His' will.
A lot of times we put our hope in things that aren't even feasible, or beneficial. Thank goodness, we have a God who watches over us, and is 'gracious' towards us. He is merciful, and faithful, even at times when we get distracted by the world and it's offers. What is important though...is that we come to realize 'what it is we are putting our hope in'. If we are putting our hope in things for our own glory, or putting our hope in things, or 'going hard' after things, people, jobs etc...and then ask God to 'bless' it after we have already set our heart on it...it's kind of like an oxymoron.
What I mean is, we sometimes take the whole 'relationship with God' thing, backwards. We act as if we should have the control over our own lives, and then ask God for his help when things aren't turning out as 'we' want, or plan. I think God wants us to come to Him first. I think the wiser way to go, is to come to God 'first' with our imaginations, our hopes, our goals, our dreams...and ask Him 'His' will. Because God's 'will' is always the 'best' way. Some people think that asking God's 'will' means putting our perfect dreams into a vending machine mixed with all sorts of other stuff , and watching what God will pull out for you. Inside, we don't admit it, but it really seems more like 'giving up on what we love'. This is because, we don't 'know' the truth on who God is, and a lot of us who have heard, don't 'believe' it.
People have the wrong view on God's Commands... God's will... and 'Surrender'.
They would rather not hear about finding their purpose in Christ, because frankly it just seems too 'ariy'. It's not what they want to hear...and they don't understand it.
I mentioned that some folks have the wrong view on God's commands. For example; a lot of teens have the wrong view on 'their own parents' commands. Now, not everyone has 'perfect' parents, but we must realize that 'God' 'is' the 'perfect', 'most awesome' 'parent'. He's not fallible, not ever changing in His love and desire for You, and He wants to you be full of 'Joy', 'Peace', and the overwhelming sense of 'belonging' to Him. He doesn't want you to feel like an orphan, and he doesn't want you to act like He isn't the 'inventor' of 'cool', because He is. The Lord has 'plans' for You. His plans aren't always what we imagine, because His plans are based on 'His' 'will'. It's God's 'will' and 'purpose' for You, to be a light in the darkness. It's God will and purpose for you, to not only draw closer to Him, but to become completely dependant, and fall in love with Him. You might be thinking, well, that's just what I don't want, to be 'dependant' or 'belong' to anybody.
Why do we think this way? Well, because we would rather live for our own vanity. What we don't realize is that vanity means (vapor)....Our vanities are passing away, here one day, and gone the other. Everything in life fades away, except the love of God. We are living for things, and pushing God away from consuming us, because we want to live for our 'vain imaginations', before all else. We have made gods, idols, out of our own plans for our lives, and our own hopes.
What we don't understand is that the only way to truly 'live' and 'be inwardly satisfied' is to be consumed by love. This is a great purpose of our lives. We do not live until we experience love. God is love, and love comes from God. And until we realize that we only live by surrendering to love, we will continue to live vane lives that revolve around ourselves...Vapor lives, that will not survive us after we are dead and gone.
It is all too common for us girls, and guys to plan things, imagine things, hope for things, that aren't God's will..and then blame Him for not making our plans succeed. We set our selves up to fall down. How? We do not let Him lead us each step of the way. We place our hope in our dreams, before we place our hope in the Lord. We believe in our own ability, more than we believe/Trust God. We don't trust Him with our lives, because we think we are being faithful to our goals or dreams, when in reality we are failing to live our Creator's will for our lives. A lot of times our own imagined fantasies, are more real and legit to us that the truth. Which is why we fight for them, at times against God. When in reality, God is trying to hand us something better, but we want what we have put our hope in, that which we don't realize will only defer our hope, and scar us with disappointment.
There is so much Joy, inner peace, and contentment to be found in a live totally dependant on God...if we put our hope in God, and place our faith in Him first; we will not let our hope be abused.
Also I know I mentioned that some folks don't have the proper view on God's commands, and Surrender. These are big enough topics to make separate blog posts about, but I will just start up on what I meant...
I know people, and meet people that wasted their lives away on 'vain imaginations' or 'false hope'. They believed the world could offer them the fulfillment that they desired, and trust me, none of them, who knew the truth didn't end up scared in some way. I feel bad for so many of the people out there, especially youth, who grew up without knowing or believing the truth, and so they set their hearts up to be broken, they bodies to be soiled, their hopes to be rotted. God tells us the right way to go in all things in His word, but there are some things that it does not say 'right out' this does not mean, that God has not showed us the right way to go about doing things, and living, so that we will not set our hearts on vain imaginations, or things that will only make our hope defer.
A lot of times we place our hope in vain imaginations, when we do not trust, or live according to the will of God, or by the wisdom He has given us, or those around us to council us. God tells us the right way to go, and gave us commands in scripture....SO that we will be blessed, healthy, fruitful, prosperous!! In life it's always a choice between...the 'bad' and the 'good' the 'good' and the 'best'. Sometimes we think that that we are wise because we aren't living a life of sin, but this doesn't mean that we are always choosing to live in the fullness of what God would have for us. A lot of times we let our own impatience, and desire lead us in settling for mediocre, when we could have 'the best'. But we can only have 'the best' through Christ.
If we put our hope in our own ability, we will realize that we let ourselves down. If we put our hope or faith in other people, we will come to realize that people can also let us down. If we put our hope in dreams, or earthly desires, we will realize that things are less certain than we imagine, and that nothing can fill the place of Christ. We may think we know what we want, and that that will fulfill us, but the truth is we resort to vain imaginations many a times, we go back to searching for things we shouldn't, because we have an emptiness inside that only God can fill up. We tell ourselves that's not it, it's because we were made to have what we desire, but truly it's because our hearts want something to pursue, to pursue something that will fill us, something that is worth placing our hope in, something that can take us to places greater than we see around us, something or someone that will make us feel more than a merit less soul. We want purpose, we want to fight for something, we want to imagine something that is greater than what we already have, we want a fulfilling relationship...and none of this is wrong, because honestly, what we want is something we overlook, something that we've been offered, but yet we replace...
Jesus.
Yes.
He is.
What you want.
What you need.
Proverbs 13:12 ~ Hope deferred makes the heart sick...but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Let's stop setting ourselves up for deferred hope. Let's instead put our faith, hope in God himself. Because He is what we really need.
See how Solomon sums his book up:
in chapter 12: verse 8, he says "Vanity of Vanities...all is Vanity"....
But He concludes thus:
12:13 'The End of the matter; all has been heard, Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of Man'....
We must be willing to 'surrender' our thoughts to God...We must not only, 'say' that we give our lives to Him, but we must not let ourselves get caught up in a worship (continual pondering) for what we want, when God tells us not to. The fact is we do this with things that is not God's will. We try to run our own lives, and we place our faith in things that have not be established or approved by God for our lives. We not only place our faith in things that are not reality, or beneficial possibility, but we let our own impatience, or flesh lead the way, and our imaginations soar without holy restraint. We must be willing to give our imaginations, our dreams our desires up to God.
God wants us to place our faith and hope in Him. He won't let us down. 'Seek Him'. Also, seek Him and He will give you the desires of your heart; because the heart that seeks after God, puts Him first, and God will give him the other things, because He knows they aren't what He 'serves'. Consider, that some of the things you may desire, that you feel God hasn't helped you attain, or given you, may be because the only reason you are seeking God, is to receive them. God wants to be God, in your life. Above your hopes, above your dreams, above your relationships, above yourself.
Don't let your hope be deferred!
The Lord knows those who put their Trust In 'Him'.
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