A thought by Shaun Nepstad from his book, Don't Quit in the Dip (p. 68). Worthy. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)
That is so true!
Shaun says, "Maybe you feel God has given you an amazing picture for your life. I love it when God opens a glimpse into His plan for our lives, but that excitement can quickly turn into frustration if we dive right into that plan without first understanding exactly where we are at the moment. If God gives a high school senior the dream to be a surgeon, he can’t just go running toward a scalpel and bribe his friends to lie down on the table for him to practice. He has to first recognize that it’s just the seed of a dream. Knowing where he is right now will help him determine the steps he needs to move toward that dream. If he circumvents this, that dream will die quickly… along with one of his practice patients!"
So true!
He goes on, "You will never know how to go for the dreams and visions God has placed within your heart if you don’t first carefully assess your 'You Are Here' location. Otherwise you will find yourself in a dip of frustration and defeat. When this happens, God often comes to us and asks us a question to help us find ourselves again. It’s the same question he posed to Adam and Eve: 'Where are you?'"
He later says, "Why is it that when the devil tempts, distracts, and sets up a plan to get us in a dip, we turn around and shake our fist at God? He loves it when you don’t know who the enemy is. God may be asking you today, 'Where are you?' He doesn’t need to know, but he wants you to know before He can get us to where we’re supposed to be. Do you realize where you are and how you got there?"
At the end of this chapter, Shaun says, "Maybe you’ve found yourself in a dip because you have been misled by thinking what you’re looking for is somewhere outside of God’s will. Some people think the answer is always somewhere else and so they start the hunt, but they’re lacking clear directions because they’ve never established where their starting point is. They’ll change churches. Change marriages. Change cities. Change schools. Change jobs. Maybe what you’ve been looking for has been right in front of you.
"When you align your life with Jesus, be honest about where you are. Start with where you are. He’ll help you. Run to Him as you’re reminded of what you mean to Him. He will help you identify where you are so He can take you to where He wants you to go. He will reveal your purpose in Him and will take you to the dreams He’s placed in your heart. Don’t run from Him. Don’t hide. Just look up and reach out. He’s standing right there with open arms."
And we constantly be reminded, don't we?
Yes, yes!
Comments
Post a Comment