Faith Filled Family Magazine September 2016 | Page 86

accomplish and therefore look for ways to justify their ideas to turn it to thinking it is what God wants. The blinders need to be taken off and perceived expectations must be put aside to hear the voice of God in our hearts. God is speaking to us. His plan is sure. He will use us for His purpose if we simply shut up and listen for Him. Some may not be called to change populations at large, or feed numerous people, but may be called to help people, one person at a time. what the world expects from us or are scared to step out in faith and leave the world behind. Whatever it may have been or is, God is put aside. His will for us is lost so we can fit into the world. What God wants for us may seem so unachievable that it becomes a roadblock in fulfilling that purpose. This is when we need to trust the Lord for our vision and purpose and step out in faith. The financial advisor tells us to make more so we can save more for a comfortable retirement at the golf course gated community. Fear is a large part of why we We are pressured by others to don’t move forward for God’s keep the job we have, regardvision of our purpose put on our less of, for loyalty to the comhearts. Proverbs 29:25 (NIV) pany or the retirement package tells us, “Fear of man will prove given after decades of service to to be a snare, but whoever trusts them. To give up on a career we in the LORD is kept safe.” When thought was good after years of we have fear or fear mere man, investment in education and of i.e. those living in the world, we time is frowned upon, no, is conwill not accomplish God’s vision sidered insane because people He has put on each of our hearts. are expected to “stick with it” to Fear can overcome the voice of achieve what is considered right God in our hearts and minds. If and proper in the world. We are we don’t trust the Lord, out of molded by the ungodly society to fear of failure or inadequacy, fear what we perceive as good we can find ourselves walking prac tices for our lives. Notice I away from the vision He has for said “our lives” and not “His will.” us to complete. Why does this Living to society’s standards is happen? One reason is we let the so ingrained in us we fear any fear of not conforming to society, type of change and we somebecause society expects us to times freeze because we cannot seek worldly achievements, not discern God’s voice from our God’s purpose. You may want to own or separate society’s barbe financially well off, get a big raging of our minds from God’s. house, a nice car, a sure retirement fund, etc. This is what we Mark 11:23 (NASB) says, “Truly I are expected to do according to say to you, whoever says to this society’s assumption of what is mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast acceptable. So, we seek the into the sea,’ and does not doubt things to get us ahead in this in his heart, but believes that world. Our hearts may say to what he says is going to happen, pursue such and such for God’s it will be granted him.” We folpurpose but we pursue another lowers of Jesus have mountains thing because we were pushed in our lives. No one is exempt by our parents or drawn in by from this. If it were so, the Bible would say such. Because we are a fallen race, we are prone to doubt and will find times when we lack the trust we should have in God. Is your mountain not having continual trust in God? Is it not being able to let God take charge of your life? Maybe it’s knowing what God wants from you but it seems so impossible that you don’t take the first step in the journey mapped out for you. Some will misapply this verse to be applicable to the world. Want an expensive car? Some claim if you abide and believe in this verse you will achieve the expensive car or attain the wealth needed to buy it, i.e., the prosperity gospel trend. Poor application of this verse sets people up for failure and giving up on God or focusing on worldly desires instead of spiritual desires. This verse is focused and scoped for those things of God and for God. If it weren’t true, I can greatly desire some worldly and ungodly thing and it would be granted to me, right? Don’t twist this to get worldly items. The verse is for our spiritual hope and trust in God. Related to what God wants from us, if we truly believe and don’t doubt in our hearts that God will reveal to us what our purpose for Him is, then it will happen on His timeline, not ours. If we have no doubt and trust God, those wills for us that seem so opposite or impossible to accomplish, will be thrown into the sea and God will make the path clear for us. We may see the path ahead of us, but not around the bend or over the hill ahead, but if we cast aside the mountain of doubt, God will deliver. Trusting in the