Preparation Without Consultation
today i want to share something that God has put His finger on in my life and i feel like it's something that we, as Christ followers, can struggle with, but don't know how to fix it, deal with it, or sometimes we don't even recognize it. i hope this sticks with you and makes you think and search your own heart. i pray that God puts His finger on that place in your life that you need shaping and molding, just like He did and is still doing. God has revealed to me recently that often times we, myself included, prepare for things without consulting Him and then we expect Him to bless it. then we wonder why He won't bless it, BUT God's not required to bless something that He didn't ordain. here's a hypothetical to further illustrate my point: we pray & ask God to reveal His plan for our life. He gives us a vague picture for the future. let's say, pastor. so you begin dreaming, then you start a small group, then preach in your local youth group, then become the lead pastor of that church, then travel to colleges and speaking, then being the key speaker of a major conference, then traveling all over the world preaching the gospel. so you decide that God has told you to travel all over the world preaching the gospel. that's a big jump right ?
{let me pause-IF GOD HAS CALLED YOU TO BE A MISSIONARY, DO IT. IF YOU KNOW THAT THE LORD HAS CALLED YOU TO A SPECIFIC THING, DO IT. i'm not saying you shouldn't do amazing things for Christ, i'm saying that you should make sure that's what GOD wants you to do, not what YOU want to do.}
if you don't get anything else from this, PLEASE GET THIS: we often dream up these huge lifestyles for ourselves, when in reality God is calling you to do something completely different, but you miss it because you're so focused on this supposed destiny for your life that was never God's plan for you anyway. then you end up 20 miles away from where you're supposed to be & you have to back pedal & miss out on all the great things God has for you because you got cocky.
i never want to be cocky in my faith. i'm not my creator & i have no idea what my life will look like, but i am 100% guilty of preparing for something without consulting Him first. so you're probably thinking, "cool Kinley, we all suck & we're all idiots. now what ?" well, now you get to pray & ask God to put show you the places where you've made preparations without consulting Him first, you get on your knees or raise your hands or whatever you do, & say, "Jesus, it's all yours. everything i have, my future, my life, it's all yours." & the next time you go to jump, you make a conscious effort to ask for God's guidance before you jump.
i hope that challenges you and that you surrender your plans to God and allow Him to steer you in the right direction from now on. here's a little outfit post for y'all too because i'm obsessing over this corduroy top !!
shoes//Vans jeans//Old Navy (sale) shirt//old Eddie Bauer, similar earrings//Bauble Bar belt//Target
as always, if you need prayer, have any questions, post requests, or just want to chat please feel free to contact me through email or social media. you can click on the contact tab at the top of the page & fill in the required fields or follow my social media accounts through the icons on the left side of my home page. thank you for reading Saved By Grace, until next time y'all :-)
"& I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, & I will be the glory in her midst."
Zechariah 2:5