if there is one thing you should be certain of throughout your life on this earth.... it's that God is faithful. with our move creeping up [what is it? a mere 14 days away?]. it's easy to be side-tracked and distracted by all the doubt that we self-talk our way into. cody and i have always [well... since 2012] said we felt led to take root in AL - and since that decision was made, we've had many a doubt as to whether or not we 'still' feel led.. if you are anything like me, this makes no sense! it's not like God has this plan for our lives and at any whim, He changes His mind as to say, 'ehh... I think I'll just utilize them here instead'. here's my proposition [so take it for what it's worth] - i propose that God's will and plan for our lives stays the same, and it is our desire to seek God's will for ourselves that leads us closer to fulfilling His will [which He has already told us, is to bring us joy and hope for the future]!! "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." jeremiah 29:11
as mr. darling writes about God's will, he mentions that most:
act as if God’s will is some sort of vague, hazy thing. A vapor that can’t be grasped. It’s almost as if they want God’s Will, but don’t ever think they’ll have a shot at actually finding it.
let's rationalize for a second... is God a God confusion? does He lead astray His own sheep? is He a God who thrives on our anxiety and want us to blindly scatter about just hoping we end up where He wants us? obviously not with that being said, where have these doubts that cody & i have been experiencing come into play in the big picture of our faith? well, for starters, we heard the call and felt the conviction to GO much stronger, louder and clearer when we were faithfully in His Word. when we were ACTIVELY SEEKING Him. this is all not to say that we aren't currently doing this - however, it is safe to say we've become much more complacent than we'd like to be [which is easily, yet wrongfully justifiable concerning the amount of 'stress' we are under as of late]. so there's issue numero uno: if you feel far away from God... who do you think moved?
therefore, in order for us to make rational decisions as it pertains to us, God, and His will for our lives, we must open up the stage for Him to speak... and then... we must listen, and most importantly FOLLOW. so what does God's voice sound like?
from what we have experienced thus far... here are some 'tips' and 'tell-tale' signs you are in God's will [or at least headed in the right direction]:
be IN the Word - if you don't do your part in actively seeking God and His desires for your life, you WILL hinder your oppurtunity to hear Him more clearly if someone in the faith affirms that you are to do what you feel called to do [cody and i affirm eachother on this, as well as our pastor - though he hates to see us leave ;) ]
if you are under attack by satan and his hords more feverently [i can tell you many stories regarding this - one of my personal experiences being after an amazing 3 month african mission trip when i had a new-found joy in the person of Christ...and in return i got malaria, lost my job and my boyfriend of 3 years broke up with me all within my 1st week home]
if you begin to see God's provision - where have we not?! after reading in matthew 6 about all the things we shouldn't be concerned about, cody and i felt convicted to just pick up and head south without having jobs - this is HUGE and takes a TON of faith [not as much as i'm sure abraham had to have to take his son, isaac up on a hill with the thought of sacrificing him to God] - though i had applied to 1 hospital a few months ago, i decided not to actively look anymore... that we would just take a trip down, find a place to live, sign some papers and be on our way. GOD HAD OTHER PLANS. it's almost as if He wanted me to get to that place of total reliance on Him [which He loves, by the way], and out of nowhere, i received a phone call from the hospital from 2 months prior on the day before going to alabama to look for a place to live... i couldn't believe it! they wanted an interview! here we are.. 3 weeks later, and i have a job lined up down south, we have a place to live and do you want to see God's provision REALLY at work? i'm taking a pay cut with this new job... a 12.28% pay cut to be exact... and the cost of living in good 'ol alabama... exactley 12.28% lower than where we currently live. God's evident provision. [there is honestly so much more, but for the sake of your time, we'll leave it at that] you're welcome ;)
if it brings God the glory - what better way to bring God glory than to move to alabama?! right??? let me explain... cody is a country boy... a hunting, cool weather, open spaces, camo covered, country boy. he's always lived in the mid west and all of his friends and close family are here... so how would moving to alaska sound? [i pick alaska, only because that's where we thought we would be moving - great hunting out there!] - moving to alaska to us sounded like a great plan, out in the middle of nowhere, perfect scenery, not too many people, slower pace of life, away from the city, awesome wild game for cody to hunt his heart out... however, where is the self-denial in that? where's the sacrifice? YES God's plan for our lives is to give us joy.. but that's not saying He will give us the desires of our hearts, it's more or less the concept of us seeking God more readily, which would conclude in wherever He leads being the new-found desire of our hearts.
