guilty.

Who here has ever doubted God's promises for their lives?  Who here has ever chosen to lean on their emotions or circumstances instead of God's word?  Who here has ever made decisions that would in effect sabotage themselves so that they had something to blame when things failed?  Who here struggles to dream bigger than the things they themselves can accomplish?

Guilty, guilty, guilty, GUILTY.

Who's with me?  Yeah?  So, this Sunday, the words my pastors shared were a breath of fresh air.  The first words that stuck were JUST BELIEVE.  As Christians, we are not called to work out all of the details and make things happen.  We are to just believe that God is faithful to His promises, and the rest will begin to fall into place.  So many times I try to plan things out, and stress as I watch them often unfold differently than "the plan".  If only I'd remember what God says about that, "The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9  I need to let the Lord direct me...not the other way.

And then the other word shared was STOP LIMITING GOD.  (guilty?!)  It's amazing when I step back and see how often I try and limit God.  It isn't that God is bound by what we believe...He can do anything.  But when we hold Him at a distance and don't allow Him the room to move in our lives, He is limited.  He's not going to barge in and force us to take the gifts.  That's not how relationships work.  God can place a huge gift in our hands and we can refuse to open it.  We can say that we don't deserve it.  We can think that it won't be a great gift, so we cast it aside.  

One of my favorite quotes illustrates this:  "Man finds it hard to get what he wants, because he does not want the best; God finds it hard to give, because He would give the best, and man will not take it."

-George MacDonald

Oh, how often do I have to change my thinking to believe that it's okay to want the best AND to receive it?  The last two days have been eye-opening as my thoughts turn to their normal toying with doubt and God has been whispering to me to believe.  To let Him take the lead and to be open to whatever His best for me is.  

I think the thought that needs banishing from my mind is, "That's not going to happen."

Anyone else?