Crumbs Under the Table

Prov. 16:9 A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.

It seems that whenever we set out to do anything for God, we often immediately encounter circumstances that only serve to muddy the waters. What we previously saw clearly, now becomes hazy. We encounter situations and circumstances that we never imagined nor envisioned when we first planned our way.

The good news is that we are not alone. We have the written accounts of many great people who have endured similar confounding circumstances.

Joseph surely did not anticipate all of the twists and turns that God would take him through on the way to fulfilling the dream the He put in his heart. When Moses refused to be called Pharaoh’s son (Heb. 11:24), do you think that he knew that he would spend 40 years herding sheep in the desert? Paul “tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.” (Acts 16:7)

One of the great challenges of life is to recognize change and respond properly to it. The more quickly that we recognize change, the more quickly we can respond to it.

Is this contrary circumstance that I am encountering actually the Lord trying to stop me or change my direction or is it simply an obstacle that He desires me to overcome?

Too many people live by the open door policy. If things are easy, then it must be because the Lord opened a door for them. If things are difficult, it is because the Lord hasn’t opened the door. But how do you reconcile what the Holy Spirit said through the apostle Paul:

1 Cor. 16:9 For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

The open door policy would say that the presence of may adversaries clearly indicates that God had not opened a door for the ministry of the Gospel. However, this was clearly not the case.

While we must always be aware of the ever changing circumstances in our lives, we should not allow them to be the primary factor in deciding our course of action. That position should belong to the Lord.

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. Psalm 37:4-5 (NKJ)

Yesterday, we discussed that after God has placed His desires in our heart, we must commit to act on them. However, as our Lord told us, “difficult is the way that leads to life.” (Matt. 7:14)

Our friend was wavering in her decision to move to New Zealand because she had received no offers for her Honda SUV although it is competitively priced.

Is this the Lord’s hand guiding her? Definitely!

Does it mean that He does not want her to go? Perhaps…

One of the challenges that we face in trying to walk with God is that we frequently don’t KNOW exactly how we will get where the Lord wants us to go! To walk with God is to live with uncertainty. The apostle Paul expressed this when he wrote that “we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Cor. 5:7)

Every step forward is an expression of our trust that He will guide us.

Psalm 37:5  Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

Back in December, a dear family friend came and worked with my oldest daughter and I to get the house ready to sell, After working all day together, the after dinner conversation centered on her future plans.

It had become apparent to me after talking with her over a course of a few years that she had a desire to return to New Zealand. She had originally traveled there on a short term missions trip.

That night, after much exhortation, she became persuaded that God had put that desire in her heart and decided to act on it this summer.

I saw her again this past weekend at a mutual friend’s wedding and asked her about the move. She lamented that she had no offers on her SUV and was beginning to wonder if it was God’s will for her to move.

If we believe that we live in a fallen world that is at enmity with God, then we should not be surprised that circumstances make it more difficult to carry out God’s wishes.

It is one thing to delight ourselves in Him and allow Him to put His desires into our hearts. It is quite another to act on that desire and enter into what He has for us. It is all too easy, even comforting, to shrink back in unbelief or fear when the time for action arrives. (Heb. 10:38)

Yet, you and I are not the first to face this temptation. The children of Israel were glad to learn of God’s desire to deliver them from the harsh life of slavery in Egypt. However, they were not willing to fight to take possession of the Promise Land.

Notice that the Holy Spirit follows “He shall give you the desires of your heart” with “commit your way to Him.” 

It takes faith to please God. (Heb. 11:6) Do we have the courage to launch out and do what God has put into our hearts? Are we willing to pack up our belongings and move, like Abraham? (Heb. 11:8) Are we willing to refuse the promotion at the big corporation so that we might start something new and unproven like Moses? (Heb. 11:24-25) Are we willing to commit to love one person in marriage? Are we willing to end the relationship that we are currently in because we know it is not right?

We inherently fear change. Frequently, we would rather remain miserable in the safety of our chains than to face the unpredictable vulnerabilities of risk and opportunity.

We are like infants. We want to explore and learn and live. However we can only crawl. God, the original father, is encouraging us to take our first steps.

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

When I was younger, I understood this to say “if I spend a great deal of time praying and reading the Scripture, He will give me what I want”.

This interpretation changes “delighting ourselves in the Lord” into a price to be paid, a means to get our way. In effect, prayer and devotion become tools to manipulate God. It conjures up a picture of a young person visiting their ‘doddering, old’ grandparents just to be able to borrow the car or get some money to do what they want.

How can we “delight ourselves in the Lord” while we secretly are desiring and delighting in something else? Do we imagine that God cannot see what is really in our hearts? Is He that easily fooled?

I think that many of God’s children start out this way. However, as we give ourselves to prayer and devotion, our desires begin to change. What we once “could not live without” begins to lose it luster as we behold Him through the Word and prayer.

The Hebrew word translated delight means to be soft or pliable; luxurious. In other words, malleable.

When we go out to eat, my wife and I will generally split one meal due to the exceedingly large portions that most restaurants now serve. However, I require that she chooses what we eat without my help! Why do I do that? I know that she enjoys eating out MUCH more than I do and if we are going to share a meal, it is much more enjoyable for me to eat what she wants rather than ordering on my own. Why? Because I delight in her. I want her to be happy!

Just as I delight in my wife’s happiness as she orders whatever she wants at the restaurant, so the Holy Spirit encourges us to delight in God. My life is His to do with as He pleases. “Lord, I want to make You happy.”

My delight in my wife’s happiness leads me to want what she wants. I want to share and partake of her choice with her! I want to know her. So the Holy Spirit encourages us to be soft and pliable before the Lord, waiting for Him to place His desires inside. “Lord, what would you have me do today? What do you want to order today?”

I believe that this Scripture should be read: “Because you love Him, be soft or pliable in His presence and He will lay or set in place His desires for your life in your heart.”