“The challenge is to live in the present purposefully and to lead a contented life even while particular desires remain unfulfilled. That kind of contentment depends on a sense of purpose outside our own feelings. It rests in the conviction that there is a grand design to our lives, and that the design has an Author. Our knowledge of that design may be incomplete, but its Author has made Himself known to us, and that helps us perceive how He works in our lives and in the world around us.
When God calls us to Himself, it transforms the purposes for which we live. To respond to that call is to view relationships, responsibilities, gifts, and opportunities as His purposes in our lives. These purposes are our callings—the things we are equipped by God to do in our individual situations throughout all the seasons of our lives…”
This is an excerpt from Now and Not Yet, by Jennifer Marshall. I’m only several chapters in, and I hope I don’t retract this statement later, but I would recommend it to single females. So far, it has definitely been worth my time.
Anyway, as I was reading earlier I kept coming back to these couple of paragraphs. They were dead-on to alot of what my heart is struggling with right now, in feeling stuck at this seemingly “in-between” place in life. Also, what I read immediately reminded me of a conversation I had a few weeks ago.
A fairly new friend of mine came up to me after church with some words of encouragement, knowing from a previous conversation about my stress and whatnot. I won’t do his words justice but, in short, he—relaying this from something he had heard—just reminded me that we don’t need to worry about the yesterdays or the tomorrows, because God works always in the present.
‘It’s common sense that I don’t need to be stressing out about the future (Still, easier said than done), but I think it’s okay to think about what the Lord wants to do next so that I can plan towards that,’ was my mental response as I thought about what he had said that night. I felt like it was wrong to totally neglect the work that God had done in the past and not look forward to what He will continue to do in the future. I thought having that view was almost disregarding the fact that God has a complete plan for my life, which is a thing I have to cling onto daily.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34.
…I’ve said this a few times recently (not nearly as eloquent), and I think it just became a little more real to me after reading it from someone else: “…God calls us to Himself…To respond to that call is to view relationships, responsibilities, gifts, and opportunities as His purposes in our lives.” Yes! It’s not about worrying what’s next. It’s about serving God to our fullest today, knowing that every detail about my life’s circumstance right this second is a calling to which I can respond! And though it’s not wrong to be thankful about what the Lord has previously done or to be prayerful about what He can do next, we (I) have to be so careful to not let prayerfulness become anxiety.
I feel like I’ve been in this constant state of discontent, thinking that I’m somehow not hearing the Lord’s call on my life. Not to mention that I’ve almost been expecting God to just lie out like a 10-year plan in front of me or something?! (Ridiculous, I know.) But seriously! I have been trying so hard to find contentment in figuring out what’s next when that was never a promise to begin with. We aren’t called to search for contentment; we are called to simply trust. In jobs, in marriage, in friendships, in hard times, or in the absence of any of these, the Lord calls us to love Him, love others, and through faith, see everything as a part of His perfect plan.
God is so good to allow us (and desire us) to know Him more and more. I’m always so excited about these mini revelations; they may seem small, but they’re so huge! They affect so much of my heart and my attitude, which affects the love I’m showing towards others. I’m also thankful that the Lord is continuously telling me things more than once. I ask that of Him, and constantly confess my hard-headedness, and He never fails to show me Grace. Through a friend, He planted a seed of these thoughts, and He reinforced them until it clicked.
