Choices, Changes and Challenges

This last couple of weeks I’ve been preoccupied with my work. I’ve had several long days during a six day work week. It’s kept me from getting much written, but certainly not from contemplating my next post. And with the elections recently passed, there has been quite a bit of time in reflection regarding the state of our nation, what the next four years will bring, what is God doing in the midst of this, and what will it look like when we get to the other side?

I believe we as a country are in for a time of radical transition that our generation has generally not witnessed. Anytime there is change, it’s a bit intimidating. I think it’s how God has made us though. Through our closeness with God, we grow more secure in knowing that he will see us through to the other side and it brings a calm to the challenges the world throws at us. Christians or not, some people will face extraordinary turmoil, seemingly more than they can bear and others will experience a minor bump in the road to their daily living.

And this brings me to the central thing I’ve reflected on the most over the last few months. What is the source of your foundation? What principles and values guide the decisions that you make each and every day? For many people it’s their weekly paychecks and trying to have some money left over after the bills are paid. For others, it’s the relationships with family and friends that they have. And yet others, it’s “living the good life” so they say or “do whatever makes you happy” or “let people do what they want as long as it doesn’t hurt someone else.”

Americans across the nation cast their vote last Tuesday and determined what our country should stand for over the next four years and beyond. And I can’t help but wonder, “Did we just birth an Ishmael?” Only time will tell what will come out of this election and the impact it will make on our nation over the next several years. And oftentimes, we don’t know for some time down the road that the decisions we made were Ishmael’s instead of Isaac’s.

The one thing I rest assured in is that God is in control. His Word tells us that He works things out for our good, not to harm us. He tells us that we have a future and a hope. He can turn a nation in a day; what can stop Him from turning the hearts of our government leaders? And who am I to tell God that one should be our nation’s leader over another? Is it God that has the plan that I should come into agreement with or my plan that He should agree with?

The one thing we as Christians can do is continue to seek Him – in worship and in prayer. God can change a nation in a day or over four years. But only through His sons and daughters that continue to choose Him first!

Ishmael Moments

About a week ago while I was at work, God spoke the name Ishmael to me. At first, I didn’t know exactly what He meant about it. But as I thought about it, Ishmael represents what comes out of the decisions that we make. Most of us know the story in Genesis of Sarah, Abraham and Hagar who then gave birth to Ishmael. Abraham and Sarah had heard a word from the Lord but didn’t believe that it would happen and went to try to make it happen in their own way.

In my personal reflection seeking Him, I’ve looked back at decisions made, some more significant and life altering than others, but each holds a choice. I believe that He gives us freedom to choose and at times, either choice is just that. No right or wrong, just simply a choice. Kind of like “you say tomato, I say tomato” type of thing. Depending on where you were raised, you may say the word differently if you’re from a different part of the country. But there are other choices that we make on a regular basis and they are tests. Tests to see if we will seek God’s will for us or not. And at the root of each choice, I believe lives an Isaac or an Ishmael.

Have you ever experienced one of those moments? You’re going down the road of life and a choice comes up. You pray about it, asking God for His direction and you reach a point where you have to choose. You can’t put it off any longer. You know that procrastination will force a decision; that which is in question will not remain in question forever. In fact opportunities come and go and procrastinating is simply a “no” waiting to happen; and in fact it is also a decision! But you really want to hear from God and there are so many distractions getting in the way. You get to a point when you’ve prayed about something, think you’ve heard from God and you step out in faith and WHAM! Next thing you know, an Ishmael is born! It can be big things or small. Like the other day when Tracy had a bowl of cereal. It sounded good but she’s been watching what she eats and wanted something healthier also. It’s not one of those that is mostly sugar with a little rice or corn thrown in; it was the “O’s”; one of the healthier choices in cereal to eat. But she went for the cereal and after eating was still hungry. BAM! There’s another Ishmael! For some of these choices, you repent and they are gone in a couple of days. Others though, stay with you for the rest of your life!

Now, I’m not talking about choices that didn’t work out the way you thought they should. Remember, God is sovereign and makes a way out when there is no way; His plans ultimately prevail even though it may take some time to bear fruit. And besides, while I don’t believe God desires harm to come upon us, He does ask us to be faithful, and difficult times show the depth of our faithfulness to Him.

What I’m talking about are the ones where you’re undecided. You know one thing but something about it has you doubting; you're thinking and weighing of the issues leads you to believe something else could be better for you. Before you know it, an Ishmael is conceived and delivered into your open arms. So full of joy only to discover it was really your plan and not God’s. You ask “now what am I going to do?”

I don’t have all the answers to the questions, but I believe there are some key things we need to do. First, we need to set aside our hurts and frustrations which lead to blaming someone else or ourselves for the situation. We’ll accept nothing else about the situation as long as we are holding onto the pain associated with it. Then we need to recognize and admit the truth so that we can repent. Sometimes we don’t recognize the truth immediately and we need to ask God to show us where we took the wrong turn. Yes, we made a mistake and now we need to forgive ourselves and others, and ask for God to forgive us. For some reason, one of the hardest things for people to do is to admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness. Once these steps are taken, the restoration can begin. Part of the restoration process involves trusting yourself to hear from God and not make the same mistakes.

One of the things I’m starting to do is write down the things I believe He’s telling me so that I can refer back when needed. This way, my fears and doubts stop ruling my decisions and I will build greater confidence or faith in God as these things come to pass. Over and over, the reality is that if I had waited and didn’t have an Ishmael, what I heard from God would have come to pass in time and I wouldn’t be spending so much time cleaning up my messes.