Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in God, and God will act.

Psalms 37:5

"Commit your way to the Lord." What simple words! What hard action!

I meditated on these words as I took my daily walk around the neighborhood. A sudden prayer came to my head: "Lord, here are my dreams, I commit them to your care." I heard an instant reply: "Here is my will, I commit it to your care." I can't express the instant rush of peace and absolute fear I felt simultaneously in that moment!

God spoke and I realized that no matter what God's will for my life is, I will be protected. There will be enough money, enough friends, eventually another long lasting relationship of love, and enough energy to do whatever God requires of me. But what a frightening thought! To know that as long as I center myself in God's perfect will, my needs will not go unmet. Sure, they'll still be things I want ... they'll always be more that I desire ... but I will not go without anything I need. If I trust in God, God will act.

Please don't misunderstand my message. I've heard so often the platitudes from both liberal and fundamentalist Christians that if we believe right, then we're in God's will. There's a whole list of things one must believe to be considered a Christian living in God's will by this measure. You must believe in the virgin birth, the bodily resurrection, the trinity, that Jesus was both fully God and fully human. Believe all these things, they tell you, and God will provide. That's not what I'm telling you at all.

Being in God's will is hard, and it has nothing to do with believing in the doctrine or dogma of the church. I have the distinct feeling that God doesn't care very much if I read my Bible every day or believe in the virgin birth or engage in heated debates over whether Jesus was fully human or fully God. What God cares about is that I commit my way to him at every second of the day. God calls us to live mindfully within God's will. We must intentionally be with God at every moment and become fully aware of God's presence in our lives. That's how we discern God's will. It's not about believing in things about God, it's feeling God's presence around us at all times. It's about being committed to doing God's will, even when we're tired, depressed and feeling like doing anything but. That's difficult ... but it's what we're called to do. It's frightening to take that first step, and to realize what a big responsibility God gives us when God commits God's will to our care! But what blessings we'll see when we do!

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in God, and God will act.

Blessings,
Candace