These past few years have taught me a lot about myself and they have also taught me a lot about the “mysterious ways” of God.
I think there isn't much better in life than when you find out that Gods ways are the same as your own, or perhaps more accurately ..my ways are the same as His ways..
However it has been my experience over the years that often times, my ways are not the same as Gods ways. In fact the bible speaks about this…
Isaiah 55:8-9 speaks of this …. Our thoughts and ways are often very different to God’s.
I cant speak for you, so …for me, there have been many times when I have assumed that God had only one way for my life….only to find as the years rolled around that God is not limited to my human limitations and the boundaries I put around my own life.
Sadly, ignorance around some of this throughout time, often causes us, (me, and maybe just me) to limit what we might attempt in His name and for His purposes.
When I retired from TSA I questioned a lot about my calling and how I was ending my time in the role of an active Officer. There was absolutely no question for me that moving into Ambulance Victoria as Senior Chaplain was in fact a God directed move….and as much as that went against everything I held true for so very long, I never second guessed for one minute that God was still leading me and opening doors for my life’s ministry in His name.
Obviously when that concluded…. The questions all came again.
With 2 months of no work, I questioned it all over again….and yet, I truly needed time off work to realign my thoughts and motives and heart.
And so I find myself working in the pastoral team for one of the largest churches in Australia and find myself even preaching …which I did not expect to be doing at all.
Yesterdays opportunity to share my story and the Word of God with a group of seniors was a very special time for me personally, as it kind of made me feel like I have “come home”, and its where I belong.
So…who would have thought ? Certainly not me, that I would find myself in this role at this stage of my life, Gods ways are very very different to mine, and it’s all very very good.
Julie joined the seniors event yesterday, and it was super good having her sitting there, It s been a very long time since I preached and it was nice having the moral support with me.
I know it’s surprising….but yep, we are both classed as seniors right now. (Gobsmacking isnt it ???)
When God called me into ministry so many years ago, I thought that it would be only in a set manner, and for many that’s what it is and it isn't wrong…however it is also not wrong for God to move people around the place into other ministries if He should will it.
What is critically important is to be true to what God leads on your heart to do and to be. Test it, that it isnt just your own fanciful ways….because many times our ways are not the same as God’s.
When I was a very little boy my father gave me my first bible ( which I still have) and he wrote in the front of it the verses from Proverbs 3:5-6.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight “
These days I am attempting to lean not on my own understanding…to submit to Him my life and He is making my paths very different to what I expected in the beginning.
And it is very very excellent.
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