To The Moon...

"Many of us have a mental conception of what a Christian should be, and the lives of the saints become a hindrance to our concentration on God."

Lately Ive realized, you cant really plan for anything. I mean you can certainly try, and sometimes it works out for some people. But for the most part, we cant even pretend to know what were doing as we wander through this life, because nothing ever works out how we expect it to.
I think sometimes we think theres a formula. I mean, people have created a formula! Theres the "American Dream". Find love, gain knowledge, get a fulfilling career, get married, and have kids. Theres even the "Christian dream" And I think thats what stumps me most of all. We expect everyones stories to be the same. Keep yourself "pure" before marriage. And once youre married the woman stays at home and the man has an already made career or job. And then have a house full of kids. I believe this "formula" is honorable, and I have seen this exact thing work out. But I have also seen a lot of not so fun, crappy stuff happen in the middle or the beginning and maybe something happens way later in life.
We expect everything to work out exactly as we plan. That every thing is easy and can be planned out. And if things look like theyre getting hard, we should abort the mission.
A person will change their career path an average of 8 times in their lifetime. so you can go to school for four years, expecting to stick with that career your whole life, but it might not work out that way.
Im not saying to live in fear of the unknown. Im saying the exact opposite. Live in the joy of the unknown. Instead of planning every detail of your life out, trust God with your future. This is something that has been heavy on my heart lately. I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Sometimes Im terrified that I'll waste my life. But I also realize that as long as Im chasing God, He will use me. Money is one of the biggest stresses in my life. And im learning to trust him with it. As my future gets closer and more daunting, I feel at peace. Life is crazy, and nothing has worked out like I thought it would. I dont know where Ill be in ten years. But I know He will bring me where He wants me. I know sometimes what I am doing will look impractical to most everyone, even my family, but thats why trust is so important.
I just think about David, and how he started dancing in front of people, when he wanted to worship God and praising Him for everything he was doing. It looked inappropriate to those who were watching. But it was pleasing to God.
"The Spirit may lead me into total sacrifice financially or He may lead me towards humiliation in the opinions of the people around me."
Maybe I wont be in a place of "security" for ten years. But we only have this one life. So I dont see why we dont shoot for the moon. We dont take risks, not even for the One we live for. We stay in our own little comfort zone. I have such respect for those who are willing to drop their whole life and become missionaries. For those who will sell everything they own, and live like hobos, as an act of trust. Some are doing it for the adrenaline and the adventure. And some are doing this because they want their whole life to be God's. And not everyone is meant to do these grand adventures. But maybe my act of trust is trusting God to do whatever He will with my future. Even if it means being broke and struggling for several years.
Isaiah came to Hezekiah and he said troubles were coming. That he would lose his money and many of his treasures and possesions and loved ones. But Hezekiah simply replied, "The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good! At least there will be peace and truth in my days."
Sure I might be "changing the rules." But life doesnt have a formula, no life looks the same as another. We all have different struggles and different journies. We are all different parts of a living body. The arm does not have the same function as an eye. So why should my life look exactly like yours. Our one job is to chase God and give our life to Him, and He will take care of the rest. I think we need to shoot for the moon, to be everything we can be for Him. Maybe He will humble us, and take everything from us. But no matter what, we need to run to Him. And that must be our greatest desire. Its true we want certain things for our friends and family. But our lives wont always make sense to our loved ones.
"We calculate and estimate and say that this and that will happen, and we forget to make room for God to come in as He chooses... Do not look for God to come in any particular way, but look for Him."