WHAT NOW, LORD?
Some days, we feel like life is just passing us by.  We look at people
around us and they seem to have it all together - while we plod along
and bite the dust.  Then we think thoughts like: Life is hard; Life
isn't fair;
Life is full of unpleasant suprises.
Sometimes, we really have a "blah" kind of day.  And just like Job, we
wish we were never born.  Maybe someone yelled at you or made a
cutting remark.  Or you're flat broke and it's one more week to
payday.  You came home late and are grounded for a month.  Or your
boss just keeps hounding you and giving you a bad time.  Or someone
whom you really trusted betrayed you.
Many times when we're in a difficult situation, WE WANT OUT. We want
to escape. So we formulate a little plan in our heads - and then
dutifully ask God:  What's your will, Lord?  Do I quit my job and look
for another one?  Go to the States? Change my business?  Change my
husband/wife?  Be a missionary here or abroad?  Look for another
church/school/office? Get married?
Going to God and asking Him to guide us is well and good.  But often,
we go to God already with a plan in mind.  Nothing wrong with that.
But many times we go to Him CONVINCED that we've got it all figured
out - so can He just please give our plan His go - signal?  We are
trusting in OUR solutions - not His!  That's why, sometimes, even if
we keep on praying for God's will, we end up waiting and waiting, or
getting more and more confused. As a godly man said, "It makes no
sense to petition God if we are not predisposed to do His will."
Even before praying for God's will to be revealed to us, we must first
ask ourselves: Am I willing to obey His will for me, whatever that may
be?  Even if it means staying in a miserable marriage, a difficult
job?  Even if it means giving up a relationship?  We must give God a
free hand to do whatever He wants.
We must not limit Him with our man-made options.
Dr Neil Anderson, well-known to many of us for the "Bondage Breaker"
series, tells us about two important concepts on the will of God:
1.      BLOOM WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED.  "Be the best that you can be at your
present assignment, and stay there until God calls you elsewhere."

God is the Master Teacher, Life is our classroom without walls. God
uses difficult situations and people around us to teach us valuable
lessons on humility, obedience, patience, contentment, diligence,
faithfulness, etc.  People will be attracted to Christ by our lives,
especially how we respond to trials and adversity.
The apostle Paul said, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has
strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into
service" (1 Tim 1:12).  Wherever it is that God has placed you, there
are always opportunities to help people, to be a good example, to
attract others to Christ.
If we grumble, get quarrelsome, cranky, depressed or behave in a way
that discredits God and other Christians, how can God use us?
Dr. Anderson says, "If you aren't responsible in your present
assignment and aren't taking advantage of the opportunities that are
there, don't expect God to call you elsewhere."
2.      GOD CAN ONLY GUIDE A MOVING SHIP.  "He is the rudder, but if the
ship isn't under way, it can't be directed.  Willingness to obey His
will gets the ship moving."

Isaiah 58:11 says, "The Lord will continually guide you."  But the
context reveals that there are prerequisites that have to be
satisfied.  If we are obedient to God, He promises to guide us. As we
do God's work, His will becomes known.  As we do our best to glorify
Him in whatever lies ahead.  If we stop obeying Him, we will sink and
not be able to experience His good, acceptable, and perfect will.
George Muller was the founder of the Bristol Orphan Home which became
known all over the world as one of the most remarkable monuments of
human faith and divine guidance in history.  Year after year, without
a single advertisement to the public or appeal to Christian friends,
hundreds of children were fed, clothed and educated.  The home was
maintained simply through prayer and faith.  This is how George Muller
described the prerequisites to knowing God's will:
"I seek in the beginning to get my heart in such a state that it has
no will of its own in regard to a given matter.  Nine-tenths of the
trouble with people is just there. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are
overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will.  When one is
truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge
of what His will is."
Are you praying right now for God's will in a certain area of your
life?
Has it been a long, hard wait?  A tough, confusing time?  Take heart.
BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED. Excel where God has put you.  Bring
glory to His name.  Live a life of constant obedience to Him.  And
you'll see - HE'LL COME THROUGH FOR YOU