WHAT IS GOD DOING IN YOUR LIFE?

In the sermon our pastor gave this week, he had us look at Colossians 3:16:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching, and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

For the last 10 weeks I’ve been doing Henry Blakaby’s Bible study, Experiencing God.  At the end of the first day for this week, Blakaby says:

Sharing what God is doing in your life may help someone else encounter God in a meaningful way.  For example, when someone was led to make a significant commitment to the Lord in one of our services, I gave that person an opportunity to share with the church.  Sometimes that testimony prompted others to respond in a similar way.

A couple of weeks ago at our Sunday breakfast, I shared with some of the couples from our community who also attend our church that I was feeling really lonely and depressed.  I was not in a good way spiritually or emotionally.  It wasn’t easy to share that.  I felt vulnerable sharing a personal weakness, not knowing how the other women would respond, but I knew the Lord was prompting me to do so.  

What happened was that they did respond, not only with hugs and kind words, but also with demonstrations of love and care for me later that week.  The wonderful by product was that they also began to share some of the struggles they were having as well – feeling lonely and learning to adapt to a new place to live.  That greater openness carried on into our twice monthly small group meeting, where there seemed a new freedom to share. It was awesome! 

Those moments of greater sharing were the first glimpse the Lord gave me that He wasn’t only at work in me, but also in US, together as a life group.  And so, I’m challenged again, prompted by today’s study, to share some of what the Lord has been teaching me and doing throughout these weeks in the hope that you too will share what the Lord is doing in YOU!

I think I may have mentioned in a previous blog that in the summer I was the leader of the women’s Bible study at our church.  The need arose unexpectedly and I was encouraged to step into the leadership.  I had done this kind of thing before, so from a human perspective, it made perfect sense.  BUT, everything in me was saying, NO, strongly and urgently.  I believe it was the Spirit of God doing the speaking.  Instead of saying NO though, I said YES, but it wasn’t long before I KNEW the Lord did not want me to do it, and I had to resign.  Since then, I have not only had perfect peace, I also know I have been doing EXACTLY what the Lord wants me to do.  So what is it?

What Blackaby says is the primary thing – spending time in God’s Word and prayer – responding to God’s desire to pursue a continuing love relationship with me that is real and personal.  Two days a week, while Jim is at church doing financial work, I spend a concentrated time in prayer, in worship and petition for our church and others, while I wait His pleasure for whatever He has for me in this next season of my life.  He has brought me to the place where if THIS is my primary purpose for the rest of my life, if I never engage in any other official ministry, I’m good, content, satisfied.

A number of potential “opportunities” have come my way during this time – club officer, leading a Bible study at home, return to my church as a small group Bible study leader.  In my former life 😊, I might have jumped at the chance to DO something and assumed it was God’s invitation.  But I’m convinced that I’m already doing what the Lord wants, for now, and so I have turned all those things down.  I seriously guard those times when Jim is busy elsewhere so I can spend time with the Lord.

Opportunities that have presented themselves that I have accepted were invitations from others to pray, because THIS is what God seems to deem of primary importance.  Two women, independent of one another, have asked me to share prayer with them.  I’m meeting with one today to walk through her neighborhood to pray and then tomorrow, I’m meeting at the church with another woman to pray specifically for our church and its ministries, followed by another prayer walk with a friend through our neighborhood.

I am convinced that, as Blakaby says, the Lord is about to do something BIG, and He is mobilizing His people to pray.  He has a purpose for us who know Him, individually and collectively, to make Himself known, and if we’re willing, He’ll even use us!  

So, I’m curious, what is God doing in YOUR life?