One of the things that God has taught me is that we can change our circumstances and make things better for us if we will. A Lot of things that are crappy can be manageable and even pleasant if we change our attitudes and take a cheerful step forward anyway.
Some time ago, I went on a mission to help bring souls to Christ. I ended up working in an Asian country. For me, it turned out to be a lot more difficult than I expected.
The language barrier was extremely hard for me, and I wasn’t used to the more modest way of life that so many of those people were accustomed to.
Week after week, I felt like I was hitting my head against the wall as I struggled through my situation and circumstances. Still Persisting… Never faltering… I never quit… I’m Stubborn.
You see, in my mind, I had my idea of what was to happen and how I was going to proceed, and what I ended up with was something that I wasn’t mentally prepared for.
I’ve said this in previous posts, but one of the main themes in my life has been doing things my way. It’s always been a tug-of-war… My way v. His way. I believe that he had to break me down over time until I would finally say Ok, God, …your way.
Some people like me have to work things out in our minds ahead of time as to how we will proceed. We create a plan of action… and then we follow it. It makes sense to us. It’s just how our brain works… I figure out the road or path I need to take to accomplish what I am attempting to do, and then, after seeing it in my mind, I proceed to carry out the plan.
Although there is nothing wrong with the way my mind works, nor with me putting a plan together… what I was missing was asking God for his input and counsel, and then ultimately doing it His way.
The issue is that God sees things from a much bigger perspective. He sees things from a higher level with a deeper understanding of how people work, especially each individual culture… Something that I wouldn’t know. It’s like seeing things from an eagle’s perspective, flying high up in the air, instead of seeing things as a man on the ground. God sees things that I could never see. He knows where I might do better if I did something differently than what I had planned.
I needed to trust and accept God’s ideas rather than just rely on my own… God wasn’t necessarily against my processes; He is offering something better… And… I was not giving Him first position.
And so, because I did not understand all of this at the time, I grew frustrated, and my situation began to knock me down.
As time passed, I concluded that I needed something more than what I had, and the only way to get it was to inquire of the Lord.
So, I set aside a time to fast and then pray to the Lord for instruction. And so I did.
Fasting adds torque to Prayer. It adds strength and intent… Placing greater validity on the prayer that we are offering.
I fasted, and then one morning I went before the Lord in prayer at the appointed time that I had set.
I wasn’t asking the lord to take away anything; what I was asking for was help and understanding…
In my prayer, I started by explaining everything to the lord that I felt. I poured out my heart and soul. During this time, I mentioned not just the spiritual issues, but all the physical issues that I was struggling with. We had mold growing up the walls in our apartment, we had cock roaches crawling all over the ground, and we slept on the floor.
It’s important to note that I wasn’t complaining; I was simply pointing out items to help him know what my heart was feeling and why.
And when I was done, pouring out my heart unto God, I said, “God, will you please just part the clouds and look down at my situation, just for one second, and help me.”
At that point, the voice of the Lord came audibly, and he said, “Yes…” meaning that he had agreed to everything that I had just said about my crappy circumstances… and there was a slight pause to which He said, “But you can make it Celestial.” It was an audible voice. It wasn’t something in my head. It was audible, as if someone in the room had spoken the words aloud.
It took me many days to let it soak in. Through all my crappy situations, his only word was “Yes,” which meant he agreed with what I was saying…But he then added, “You,” meaning that if I chose to, I could make my situation Celestial.
With a change in attitude and greater willingness, I could make crappy things beautiful. It was I who needed to change, and I had let my circumstances get the best of me.
I feel like there are so many situations where we could use this great wisdom in everything that we face in life. Make your situation, Celestia, even if it’s crappy, we can make it Celestial.