I Heard You, God. Now What?

God’s Invitation

Have you ever had a conversation with God that started like this: I heard you, God. Now what?

God created each of us for a purpose. Many will roam this earth living life wondering what their purpose is and never truly seek the answer. When we form a relationship with Jesus and seek his will for our lives he will reveal what he wants us to do. There will be times when you feel you heard him loud and clear and everything works out. There will be times when you feel you heard him loud and clear and things do not work out. There will be times when you don’t hear him so clearly and things still work out. There will be times when you don’t hear him at all.

The one thing that is certain is God wants to use you to fulfill his purpose. He is not going to pressure you to do it though. Once God invites us to join Him in His work and we say yes, it’s time to buckle up our seatbelts. We are about to go for quite a thrilling ride. One of adventure, joy, excitement, nervousness, doubt, and fear. You will probably even question your hearing. The key is to keep seeking Jesus and his guidance.

The Struggle

Even though we are along for the ride, God won’t give us all the details of the trip. He might show us the whole map, but the roads are left off. He might show us the road but not the city we are heading to. God knows the details and will reveal those details to us as we need to know them. He wants us to put our trust in Him.

We agree to follow Jesus and to pursue His calling on our lives. We are eager to start. We think we can do it all by ourselves. We don’t need or want the help that is required for this God sized project. We become self-centered and take the project on full speed ahead. This is when the struggle begins.

The fact is, we agreed to what God is calling us to do, not what we can do on our own. Oftentimes, we think we can do it on our own and become frustrated when things don’t work out how we think they should. The need for God becomes evident when we’re in the ditch with our flashers on, embarrassed because we slid off the road.

God’s Guidance

The waiting game is not always fun. Okay, it’s never fun unless you are the one who knows what is going to happen next. Although, it’s not fun to wait on God it’s imperative that we do. God’s timing is perfect. We may believe we know what to do next, but if God didn’t tell us to take the turn we may arrive at the wrong destination.

Listening for God’s direction will take away our anxiety. We may feel like he has put us in time out, especially, when everything comes to a sudden halt.

Being put in time out is for our benefit. God is still working things out. He will give us the green light when He is ready for us to drive further down the road. During this time of waiting, we can experience God on a whole new level. We can take this opportunity to abide in Him. As we spend more time with Him, He will draw close to us. (James 4:8)

Our Obedience

When we obey God, it shows our faith. Each time we obey Him we are not only showing God, we trust Him, but we are showing others around us that we trust God. We may look crazy to the world, but it’s okay.  Following Jesus is our focus, and we know happened to Him.

When we take our eyes off the road that is when we crash. We can’t compare our trip to anyone else’s because God didn’t call us to ride with them. He called us to ride with Him. It is scary to let go of the wheel and allow God to have full control, but His driving skills are far more superior than ours.

“Obeying the Lord will require adjustments that are costly to you and to those around you.” Henry Blackaby

As we accept that there will be struggles, we can ask for God’s guidance, and obey what He tells us to do. Our actions will speak loudly to those around us. When we obey God, He will bless us, and with every blessing our faith grows.

The Impact

There is a difference between a committed Christian who is serving God to the best of their ability and a committed Christian who is fully relying on God’s ability. Most of the time we busy ourselves with many good activities that help others and show the love of Jesus, but we don’t see much of an impact. The same people show up day in and day out without much to show for the work they are putting in.

Lives aren’t changed.

No one accepts Jesus.

We put on a happy face but feel a void inside. This is a sign that we are doing the work and not allowing Jesus to work through us.

The world will see Jesus when we let Him do the work.

When we sit back and allow Jesus to use us in ways that seem impossible the world will notice. They will notice because the tasks we are accomplishing is not something we could do on our own.

God’s nature is revealed.

God’s power is shown.

What we think of as a failure doesn’t always line up with God’s definition of failure. When God receives the glory then we are fulfilling our purpose.

“A faithful servant is one who does what the Master says, no matter what the outcome.” Henry Blackaby

Are you ready to go on the ride of your life? Let’s trust God together and make a kingdom impact!