There have been so many times in my life when I have felt like I was fighting an uphill battle, and nothing seemed to be working out. I know all too well, those feelings of frustration, but I’m so thankful for the precious gift of Holy Spirit in those times. Without fail, in the middle of those times, I can always feel Him nudging me; telling me to pray.
Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV
5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.
I know many of us to have either read or heard these verses many times, but how often do we really follow those instructions? Verse 6 tells us in ALL our ways to acknowledge Him. Sadly, many of us get into the trap of believing that God only cares about those major things that happen in our lives. That said, we only seek Him when it’s something we feel is too big for us to fix or handle. The truth is, our Father cares about every part of our lives and every decision we have to make; no matter how big or small. You see, we make so many plans for our lives, but we can never forget that our Father has an ultimate purpose for us. As His children, our hearts should always be to stay in His perfect will so that His purpose for our lives can be fulfilled. I have found that when I’ve prayed and allowed the Father to direct my path, everything goes more smoothly than when I attempt to do them on my own. I have also learned that when I allow Holy Spirit to lead me that He reveals and does so much more than what I could have ever imagined. We only see and know what’s right in front of us, but our Father knows every detail about us, and His desires for our future. We can only see a small piece of the puzzle, but our Father sees the whole beautiful picture of the plan He has for us.
There are so many examples I could give from my own life. I can tell you in the time when my marriage was falling apart that I did everything under my own power to try to fix it, only to watch things get worse. You see, I was praying for God to fix it, but I was still trying to control the situation. It was only when I surrendered and asked our Father to forgive me, that I watched Him do what only He could. He not only restored my marriage, but He made it so much better and brought so much healing to both my husband and I. I am in complete awe of my marriage now, and the beautiful children that He has given us that are being raised according to His Word. It’s beautiful to see the ministry that is already coming out at such young ages. I am so thankful for the life He has given us. Another example would be my husband and I owning our own business. This is something we attempted before, but to be honest, we didn’t put much prayer into it and just called it a “leap of faith.” Needless to say, the first business didn’t make it, even though our Father was faithful to pick us back up after we bumped our heads. We currently own another business that we put much prayer into, and the difference is night and day. We’ve seen the Father move so much in it and provide in amazing ways, but it’s not just the business. Through this, I’ve also watched our Father bring deeper healing between my husband and I. We always bumped heads in the past, trying to do things our own stubborn way, and the Father has really taught us to listen to one another and work together as a team. Our Father has really been able to reveal our hearts to one another and draw us even closer together. I love watching all that our Father is does through and for us. All of this through a business. You see, we just thought it was a good business idea, but our Father’s overall plan is so much greater and deeper than anything we could have imagined.
I really just want to encourage you today, that in anything you may be facing, or any decision you are pondering, seek the Father and He will direct your path. His ways are always so much better than anything we could do on our own. He cares more than we know and He loves us more than we could ever fathom.