Something Bigger Coming...

Yesterday, I met with two very dear friends who also happen to be writers.
We have made a commitment to one another to hold each other accountable, to pray for one another, and to support one another through this crazy process of writing and publishing our books.
I always come away from our meetings refreshed and enlightened and highly motivated to write.

One of these friends is going through a time of testing as changes she didn't anticipate begin to take place. As she sat sharing her concerns with us, I had a very clear glimpse of what God is doing in her life... It seemed fairly obvious to me that He is moving things around -- shifting her responsibilities and priorities -- because He is about to do something bigger.
Much bigger.

While she was fretting that the impending changes were ominous for her "vision," it suddenly became apparent (to me) that the opposite was true.
These changes would actually make it possible for her dream to become reality!

And then it hit me:
How often do I do the same thing... worry about something that isn't going like I planned only to later discover God's hand was in it all along?
Why is it so hard for us -- for ME -- to remember that God sees the bigger picture?
He knows what lies before us and He sees the path's end even while we are still very near its beginning.
Why can't we trust Him with the vision He has given us?

I am speaking more to myself here, than to my friend.
While encouraging her with these very words, I felt a nudge in my own spirit.

When God gives you a vision -- a task, a mission, a purpose -- your only concern should be obedience to that task.
But so often, we take the burden upon ourselves of making the dream a reality.
This was never part of His plan, yet we act as though "if I don't do it, nobody will."
We forget that God is in control and no matter what obstacles the enemy places in our path -- as long as we are faithful to what we have been given -- God will bring it all to completion.
It may not be in the time we allotted and it may not come about just as we envisioned, but if it is truly from God, He will make it happen.
When we come across detours or roadblocks, we shouldn't falter. Perseverance and unwavering trust should be our standard response.

I write this here as a reminder to myself the next time I start to worry and fret about writing my book proposal and sending those query letters... it's not my job to publish this book.
I have only been given the task of writing it.
It's up to God to do the rest.
(whew!)