Do you think, in our Christian walk of faith, we sometimes make agendas and plans for ourselves that get in the way of what the Father is doing? Sitting where I am today, I certainly believe that we do have agendas that we believe are good and probably are of good intentions but are in fact in the way of what the Father is doing.
Currently I have covid. Yeah, huge bummer and inconvenience when you are trying to travel the country and spread the Gospel and recruit people for the Kingdom of Heaven. Thankfully the Lord provided our team (myself, Matt, and Brandon) with a place to quarantine just east of Austin, TX where we have spent the past 10 days in isolation on a friend’s farm. These have been some of the most challenging and frustrating days of my life. However it has also been some of the most growing, fruitful, faith testing, intimate days with the Lord that I have ever lived.
That brings me back to my question and to what the Lord is teaching me throughout all of this. Like I said, we sometimes have agendas that may get in the way of what the Father is doing and could also take away our intimacy with Him. Lately, I have been thinking about what Jesus said in John 5:19: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” When you really read that and think about it, it’s crazy because it is so plain and simple: Jesus did only what he saw the Father doing. Truthfully, that has been rather convicting. I know I do not really live my life like that, at least not all the time. I definitely have times where I have been moved and led by the Holy Spirit and done what the Father is asking me to do. I also have my own agendas in mind sometimes, rather than choosing to do what the Father is doing.
Now agendas, ideas, and plans are not bad things, especially if they are rooted in good intentions and a Kingdom mindset. Even in Proverbs it says “a man without vision perishes.” However, I think too often we get caught up in the drive and pursuit of what we think will be a good thing when the Lord may have something completely different in the works. So what do we do when suddenly everything changes and we are somewhat left out in the desert and we can’t really see what the Father is doing? What do we do when everything has shifted and we are left dazed and confused? If you are like me, you probably get angry and frustrated with the Lord, confused as to why what you had in mind didn’t pan out. Possibly confused on how the circumstances in which you have found yourself could be used for good.
Or, like the Lord has recently been teaching me, you might choose to trust the Father no matter the circumstance. Do you choose to surrender moment by moment, day by day, and buy in to what the Lord is doing? When you don’t understand, when you can’t see how something could be good, when it is hard and uncomfortable. In those times, do you choose to take those blind steps of faith, continuing to trust in Truth and in the love of the Father? Blind trust is not misplaced if God the Father is the one you are trusting in. It is in times like these that our faith is tested and purified like it says in 1 Peter 7:6-7.
So I leave you with one more question. Do you truly believe that the Lord has a greater perspective than you do, and that His ways are greater than our ways? (Isaiah 55:8-9) And will you choose to do and trust what the father is doing like Jesus did?
I know the Lord is currently teaching me this, and it’s not the easiest thing to walk through, but it is refining my faith, and for that I am thankful. As always, I hope and pray that my words and testimony are challenging and encouraging to any and all that read it.
Blessings and Maranatha
~ Nathan
