Ready, Set, Stop

You try and you try, then finally the door opens and you begin to walk through the door. Everything has fallen into place for you and all is well, but suddenly a roadblock stands in your path. Have you ever felt that way?

A few months ago, one of the pastors at church saw  me working on some homework for a Bible College course I was taking and he stopped to chat.  He had some great encouragement for me.  He told me that I need to step out in faith, to Go, but that God would send a roadblock to test my faith, to mature me, to make me ready for what he has for me, to make me humble, to teach me what I need to know so that I am fully ready to walk through that door, to keep moving forward.

So often we think that when a door seems to be open but becomes blocked that must mean that it wasn't an open door for us after all.  How often do we give up because it gets difficult? Sometimes we just need to persevere through it all to get to where God wants us to be.  Far too often we want to know what the end is before we get there; we want to know how, what, when, where and why everything is going to end up, but we don't always get to know those answers.

I love Romans 9:33 in The Message, which says, "Careful!  I've put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion, a stone you can't get around.  But the stone is me!  If you're looking for me, you'll find me on the way, not in the way."  What a beautiful message from God.  It is all about perspective. We see the stone on the road and we think of it as an impossibility, God says, "Wait, it's Me!"

Do we trust God enough to get us to the end of our journey? Do we trust Him enough to allow Him to get us past the roadblocks? Are we willing to allow Him to do what He wants to do in us to prepare us for the next leg of the journey? Do we trust His timing?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

God has great plans for our lives and when we are ready to seek after Him with all our hearts, that is when we will find Him.  Choose today to trust Him, no matter what He brings your way, even if He says, 

"Ready?

Get Set.

Stop!"

Don't worry, if you keep your focus on Him, one day you will hear Him say, "GO!"  That will be an exciting day indeed!  

Thanks for the chat, Paul Black. It was God's perfect timing.