I Would Rather

I’ve been thinking a thought lately and I wanted to get it to sound right before I wrote about it,  but I can’t seem to find a better way to word the thought so…

I would rather do the will of God and have it “appear” to be a bust, to have not been a good “choice”,  than to not do the will of God and have it appear to be all right. 

Do you get my meaning Dear Reader? 

Sometimes, because we look at something too fast, or frankly, because we do not have the vision of things that God does, doing His will often seems… well, rather foolish.  It would sometimes appear by circumstances that things didn’t go well enough to really be the will of God.

But then we might wanna look at a few of the folks in the history written by God’s hand through his people, if we wanna think that because “God is in it it will always turn out good”.  For one right off the top would be Jesus’ mother, Mary. 

Not but a few short months after saying yes to God’s will she is giving birth is less than meager circumstances even by the standards of the time.  And then shortly after that her husband is packing her and her small child up and running off to Egypt. 

How ‘bout the fella that God told to marry a whore.  Yikes.  Even when he did, it didn’t turn out all rosey for sure, just ‘cuz he did what God asked him to do didn’t cause her to become a perfect wife. 

 So I beg that I may put aside my ideas for the future and even for what has already gone, that I humbly do the will of God instead of what I or culture would think the wiser choice.

And for those times when I want to wail and cry and say I can’t figure out His will, may I be reminded of the latter part of Psalm 142

Lord, I flee to you for refuge.

Teach me to do your will,

  for you are my God.

Lord, I have confidence that You will teach a willing heart what Your good will is. 

And when I want to crumble and think that Your will is too hard may I continue to be encouraged by the rest that says:

Your good spirit will lead me to the land of justice;

  for your name’s sake, Lord, you will give me life.

In your righteousness you will lead my soul

  away from all tribulation.

Oh God. What may seem like tribulation and difficulties and a wrong path to the world, is not, You give me peace, a peace that surpasses all understanding, all understanding.  I need only rest in You and Your will.

Thank you for listening once again Dear Reader. Today, according to the branch of the church that I was raised in, today is All Saints Day and Psalm 142 was part of today’s Compline.  All the words I read for today reminded me of what I have been trying to work out lately and had given up on figuring out how to say at all.

I’m glad I came upon those words today, that God led me gently to them, so that I could hear again what was my heart.   That I would have encouragement to write it out, that I would find encouragement to meditate upon it.

Tomorrow we are to have freezing fog!  That should do in the brugs that I did not get moved inside.  This could be a good thing!  They are slow in the year to bloom and have awesome fragrance, at night when I’m asleep.  A lot of trouble and space for little return. 

If I get up and get out early enough, tomorrow should render some of my favorite type of pictures.  The ones you can only get in my absolute favorite time of the year!