When I am uncomfortable with a question asked of me, I have a tendency to give vague answers that barely resemble the truth. The answer I give isn't a lie, but it isn't honest either. The answer is somewhere in the gray area and prevents the person from understanding the truth. I do this to protect myself and to avoid judgement, but today I didn't. Today, I was asked a question that made me uncomfortable and instead of giving a vague answer I decided to answer honestly and even offered an elaboration to my original answer. I was surprised by the relief I felt in answering honestly. With this one person I didn't have to pretend I wasn't feeling the way I am. I wasn't judged and though the person ended the conversation, I was happy I had been honest. The lesson learned is honest answers prevent confusion and decrease the likelihood the person will accidentally say something to upset you.
I'll admit I was intrigued by the question asked me and I began to wonder the implications of the question. One implication in particular began to make me envision God's plan and I quickly stopped, remembering something I read yesterday. God's plans are not our plans and assuming we know God's plans leads to discouragement and disappointment. Moses thought he knew what God's plan was when He said, "I will harden Pharaoh's heart," but he didn't and became upset when his expectations weren't met. Moses came to God and expressed frustration, "Why have you brought this on me?" because he didn't understand God's plan. As I read this passage, I realized I have expressed this same frustration, disappointed when expectations weren't met.
God's plans are not our plans. We cannot assume we know because His thoughts are not our thoughts. God is looking at the big picture while we are usually looking at the little picture of our current circumstances. Today, I am learning to focus on God's plan and not on my own. To do this I must focus on today, on the progress being made, and not on what may or may not happen tomorrow. Do not worry about tomorrow for the future is God's hands.
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