You are here

Personal Photo: I took this picture of my mom's phone on our way to visit my brother, Josh, in Missouri. Our view of the whole journey is very limited, just like in life. However, God will always guide us, take us to the next step, and be with us the whole way!

My family is a big fan of the television series, The Chosen, which depicts Jesus and His journey to the cross. Along this captivating adventure, viewers cannot help but see themselves in many of the characters; the flaws that we have as humans and the challenges of trying to trust in more than what our minds can comprehend at times. One of the words that Jesus often refers to is 'soon.' He notes that 'soon' is such relative term, one that is easy to use and hard to pinpoint. When I sat down to write this article, I found myself feeling the same way about the term 'here.' Without getting too philosophical, I began to consider what it means, and why realizing you are 'here,' wherever that may be in life, always feels so sudden.

I think we do it a lot though, don't we? We love our rags to riches stories, looking back on how far we have come, how much we have changed. How does that saying go again? The days go slow but the years go fast. I wanted to dig into how we have hope when our 'here' is not where we want to be, when our day-to-day isn't what our dreams are made out of, when we wake up one day and realize that where we are right now is not where we want to settle down.

Many people that I know and love are finding themselves in the midst of growing pains, in a time of navigation. I think maybe we all are in that season, just realizing that it impacts different pieces of our lives at different moments. The reality is that when we find out what it is that is shifting, and we are trying to figure out how we ended up here, we can remain hopeful in the Lord, we can destroy the doubts that crawl into our minds, and with the helping hand of God and a little time, our 'here' can change dramatically.

The heart of my message today is that God will never take us somewhere that He cannot take us out of. When I say this, I mean that even though our 'here' might not be where we want to be, it means that God is working on us and through us to get us to where He wants us to go, for His glory. Along this vein, we can rest assured knowing that God is never going to let us fail. He is not going to abandon us, push us past our breaking point, or put us in situations that we cannot get out of with His help. Psalm 37:23 tells us that "The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand." When we find ourselves in tough situations, in moments of stress, our hope can be renewed by this verse. God finds joy in our love for Him, in our success. In this verse, we are directly told that God will not let us fall. Alone we cannot change our 'here,' but with Him, anything is possible, and we can look for a brighter day, a new path that He is taking us on. This verse never brings up the fear of the unknown, the hesitancy of the future. Rather, it is definitive, it is clear, that regardless of where we find ourselves, we can trust in this promise that God is with us, that He is leading us, and that we have already defeated whatever it is that we have stumbled over.

When we know we are in a transitional period in life, the hardest part is often figuring out when to move on, when we should close the chapter we are in and begin in another place. We can wake up in the mornings wondering why we put ourselves through the wringer every day, why we go through the motions when we know the end of this chapter is near. Whether it is a job, a class, a relationship, or more, we find ourselves asking 'why' more and more. When we find ourselves doing this, it is important that we go to God with our questions. James 1:5-6 tells us "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." Here we see the next step; It is alright to ask 'why,' but we must trust that God is going to answer it, that He is going to guide us to where we need to be. If we ask the question and expect immediate results, then we become impatient and frustrated. We must remember that God is our Resource, our Friend, our Father. Life works on His timing, not ours, and we can find peace in knowing that when we ask, we will receive, as the James verse above reminds us. The truth is that we keep putting ourselves out there because God is working on saving a soul through us. He is working on changing the world through us. He is working on making is children better advocates for His glory through us. We are still 'here' for a reason, and the Lord will make it clear when it is time to move on. In this way, it puts our situation into perspective. We can find peace in the turbulence of life when we know that there is a greater purpose for the turbulence, that we are going through it to make the world a better place, to make us better children of God, and to give glory to His name.

My dad always says that "The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God cannot keep you." I thought the message applied here, so I looked up the phrase to give credit to an author and discovered the whole poem. The first line is a powerful one, and it is important for us to remember it when we find that outside influences are impacting our lives. The poem (unknown author) that my dad references reads as follows:

The will of God will never take you,

Where the grace of God cannot keep you.

Where the arms of God cannot support you,

Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,

Where the power of God cannot endow you.

The will of God will never take you,

Where the spirit of God cannot work through you,

Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,

Where the army of God cannot protect you,

Where the hands of God cannot mold you.

The will of God will never take you,

Where the love of God cannot enfold you,

Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you,

Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,

Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.

The will of God will never take you,

Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,

Where the Word of God cannot feed you,

Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,

Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.

When we read this poem, when we are struggling with our 'here,' we can be inspired to take our concerns to God, to give a bit more time for Him so we can hear His instruction. Isaiah 30:21 says that "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” God's presence in our hearts is what takes the fear out of the uncertainty, the anxiousness out of our restless state, and the hopelessness out of our 'here.' When we listen for Him, we will hear Him. When we want to change our 'here,' we know that God is already working on it.

The key to finding hope in the truth that God will not take us somewhere He cannot take us out of, is to be proactive in our faith. Our 'here' does not change overnight, and it does not change just because we want it to. In order for God to use us for His glory, we cannot be stagnant, we cannot sit still. Matthew 7:7-8 reinforces this concept: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Each part of this verse begins with an action towards God on our end. When we go to Him, we are received. When we listen for His guidance, we will hear it. When we want to change our 'here,' He will understand how. When we ask for His help, He will give it. God promises to never leave us, and He promises that He will guide us. Because of these promises, our faith can bring us to Him and trust that He is working through us to take us where we are meant to go. Sometimes God gives us all the ingredients, and we just need to put them together. In this way, we can see how important it is for us to have a balance between what we are doing, and what God is telling us. As long as they align, we can find our 'here' change, and our peace returning.

I titled this article 'You are here' because when you find yourself looking at a map, you can see your location on the grand scheme of things. The little pin on the map shows us where we are right now, right at the moment we stop moving and look at the map. God holds the map in His hands, and He knows where we need to go to change where our pin is dropped. He sees the grand scheme, the gritty details, the winds and turns along the way. We only see the little pin of 'here.' Knowing that God holds the map of our destiny, gives us the directions to His glory, and is taking us on a journey to be with Him forever, we are able to find peace in trusting in Him. The will of God will never take us where the grace of God cannot keep us. Our 'here' is only relative, my friends, and with the help of our Heavenly Father, it can change in an instant.