Scriptural Foundation:
Ecclesiastes 3:11 Amplified Version (AMP)
[God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man ] He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.
2 Corinthians 12:9 New King James Version (NKJV)
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Reflection:
There is a common misconception that by default we are perfect once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Instead of thinking this way, we should look at salvation as the starting line for our faith race here on earth and the Holy Spirit our Helper to navigate us through to the finish line. As soon as this spiritual gun goes off, the challenges come almost immediately.
On the one side your non-saved friends start calling you “high and mighty”, because you are starting to lose interest in certain activities. Then on the opposite side, some, not all of your church going friends don’t seem so perfect, at times doing and saying things that under any other circumstance would be Biblically classified as worldly.
My husband will tell you, I am the first person to say that I am as plain as apple pie. I don’t know if it is an “emotional defense” mechanism, but I have always down played the challenges in my life – compared to what Jesus Christ went through, I cannot complain. The lack of chaos and/or drama in my life was a blessing, however at times it felt somewhat isolating. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t for a lack of trying to “fit in”, things just didn’t seem to come together like it did for the people around me. My subconscious pursuit of perfection just brought me up empty each time. In Ecclesiastes 3:11 (AMP) – He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.
It wasn’t until I released this misconception that God didn’t call me to be perfect, but to be obedient that I started to make spiritual progress. A scripture that I uncovered early on in my walk with the Lord was 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV) – And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. So if we acknowledge our shortcomings and hand them over to the Lord then and only then can His refining fire start molding us to become more Christ-like. In hindsight, all my embarrassing moments, my awkwardness, and countless times of rejection, it was God setting me apart for my calling.
Seeking Revelation:
Years ago the Holy Spirit dropped in my heart – “To catch up with the Lord, you have to slow down.” Instead of rushing towards to your goals in life, take a step back and wait for the Lord to direct your steps. Not only may it save you some time, but heart ache as well.
Step 1: Pull out a piece of paper.
Step 2: Fold it in half vertically.
Step 3: List out goals on the left side of the paper.
Step 4: Wait for God to speak, as he does fill out the right side of the paper.