Convergence of Circumstances

Ever notice how things always seem to happen for a reason, even if at the time we have no way of knowing what they might be or even recognize that there is a reason to what is happening?

Sometimes, life shifts and we get to feeling very uncomfortable and things don't go the way we want or expected them to and we wonder what God is up to or if He is up to anything at all. We wonder if He has forgotten us and His promises to us and things look like they are coming unglued and as if they will end in failure and we feel hopeless, or despondent, or abandoned or a combination of these and other emotions.

It is at these times that we should remember that He is sovereign and that He has a plan for us and it has nothing to do with our plans or our thoughts, for "there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is death," declares the Lord. His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts like unto us, they are higher.

When we get serious about doing the will of the Lord in our life, He will get serious about the unfolding of His plan in our life. In doing so, often times, He will have to shake our life until all that remains belongs to Him. This will mean the loss of some things and the shifting of some others. These changes often make us uncomfortable, but it is still the work of the Lord in our life. It is only after the convergence of all the circumstances that we start to see and understand what that plan is.

Let me give you an example. Even as I write this, I am experiencing some of this phenomenon in my life and ministry. It seemed as if Redeeming Grace Ministries was coming to an end and that the vision had been lost for what God brought me to Keene for. Church attendance has become non-existent, ministry beyond the church has been non-existent for some time, and no momentum could be gained in any area and I felt like it was all for nought. But, then God....

I have come in contact with a body of folks that have helped redirect and focus my calling and vision and who have come alongside me in a way that I have long wanted and needed. They have come into my life at a time when I thought all was lost and I was going through the motions solely because I didn't know what else to do and I didn't want things to die. I was numb and I was uncertain, so I just kept doing the last thing I was told to do and things continued to happen in ways that I cannot explain except for God.

And now, the beginning of a new adventure that takes the vision that God had given me and brings it into sharp contrast. In dying, there is new life. The plans that He has for me are, indeed, plans to prosper, not harm me. They are plans to give me a hope and a future. And now, through the convergence of circumstances, I can see the truth that those who ait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles, the shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Friends, can I encourage you to trust the Lord with your life, with your hopes and your dreams? Will you trust Him to work out the details as you seek to remain faithful to the calling of the Lord in your life? For He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it, even if it isn't in the way that we thought it would be worked out.

Yes, I still believe the vision He gave me will be completed, because God is good all the time and He is not a man that He should lie. Trust Him with the circumstances of your life and watch how they converge to bring about the things of God in your life, remembering that God works miracles to give Him glory and to give us a testimony.

Just saying....

Pastor Jeff