Do you have any hard and fast rules? I did and probably still do. What do I mean? Well at certain points in my life I put filters or rules in place that would guide my thinking… boundaries if you will. The purpose of these boundaries were to guide my thinking and eliminate automatically things that could be a distraction. For example…
There were certain states I told God that I would not live in when coming out of seminary. All other states are not up for consideration. That was my rule. Hopefully I will be able to replace an aging car soon. I have been shopping within certain manufacturers, everyone else is eliminated. That is my filter. The benefits are obvious. Time and energy are conserved. I have told God there are certain things I don’t want to do so when those things enter may radar I automatically dismissed them as not for me. Using my list of preferences has worked well over the years. I have lived in nice places and driven reliable cars and enjoyed my ministry positions!
The problem with this strategy is disobedience. God sometimes leads you in brand new directions. Maybe even directions that you had filtered out as not acceptable. I broke that filter when I returned to Camden First Baptist. Even Jesus was not able to do as many miracles when He returned to His hometown. I broke that filter when I discovered the position included significant preaching. When you tell God what your gifts are, I think He just chuckles and says ‘Where did you get those gifts?” I had not felt the compulsion to make any changes in my ministry. Staying put was my plan. I had thought about where and what positions would be best for me next. Again, my plan and my rules and my preferences and my filters. All of these thoughts are examples of me guiding God instead of God guiding me!
Sometimes I think I settle for good instead of God’s best because of one of my self-imposed filters. Do you have some rule keeping you from doing what God is clearly telling you to do? Are you managing risk instead of experiencing abundant living? Have you eliminated God’s best from your to do list, people you should love and ministries you should serve? You may not find what God has for you if there are places you refuse to look. When God is clearly leading please don’t dismiss it. Desire nothing more, nothing less and nothing else but God’s plan. Anything else misses the blessing!
My advice? Dump your rules! Break the filter! Experience the blessing!
However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him– 1 Corinthians 2:9
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