I know I haven't blogged in a long time...the charger for my laptop actually broke, so my computer was out of commission until a new one arrived from Amazon. (Well, if I were to be totally truthful, that's not the main reason I don't blog very often. Can I make a confession? I actually don't like blogging. *GASP* There, I said it! XP)
Anyways, enough of that. :) Even though I'm not very good at blogging (I can never seem to think of something to say!) I'm trying to get better. My apologies for having to put up with me while I learn as I go!
Last week I was listening to the radio, and I heard a preacher mention the phrase "a turtle on a fence post." That phrase intrigued me, so I continued listening. The preacher told a story that, if I remember correctly, went something like this: There was once a godly, Christian man who had accomplished great things in his life, and many people admired him for his great accomplishments. One day, while being picked up at an airport by one such admirer, he humbly deferred his praise and quoted, "I'm just a turtle on a fence post." The man who was picking him up questioned him about the strange phrase, and he went on to explain his meaning. He said that back when he was in grade school, if he saw a turtle sitting on a fence post, he automatically knew that it had not gotten there by itself. Someone must have picked it up and placed it on that post. The preacher's point in telling this story was to illustrate how God is constantly raising up ordinary people to a new height in order to use them for His purposes.
To use an analogy that the preacher I heard on the radio used in his sermon: if anyone had said at the genesis of the Christian church that Saul (Paul) was going to be one of the most influential apostles and possibly one of the most incredible evangelists in all of history, everyone would have laughed. Saul, who was bent on destroying the Christian church, would have laughed the hardest. Even on the road to Damascus, in the uncomfortable position of seeing and hearing God Himself question him about his life choices and being literally blinded by His glory, he still might have laughed at God's drastic plans to change his life. He was an example of a turtle on a fence post.
The simple but profound truth stuck with me as I brewed over it. Sometimes I find myself in situations that, frankly, I'd rather not be in. Whenever I'm brought out of my comfort zone and am thrust into a tough or sticky situation, I tend to either cower and become anxious about the unseen future, or groan and complain about how I am supposed to make it through. These crossroads in our lives can seem like the biggest inconvenience at the time, but God must be up in heaven laughing at our response in our limited vision, as He unfolds the plan that only He knows and only He can conceive for our lives.
God has been teaching me about the realities of His sovereignty lately. I need to cling to the truth that He knows what He's doing, even when we feel like our life is going to pot. Every single "depth of despair" we encounter...He has accounted for. He has known every second of what will happen in our lives since the dawn of time. Every time we are tempted to despair, we should remember that we only see from our limited perspective. God sees the whole picture...and the glorious end in sight. His goal is His glory and our good. Keeping our lives and hearts open to His working in us is the real and the only key to success.
Uncomfortable situations sometimes pop up more than we'd like them to. But what if God's purpose in bringing us to those places of desperation--even places of confusion and doubt--is to bring us closer to His plan for us? I know that if I amount to anything in my life, it would only be because of God's amazing power. His desire and the reason we exist is to bring glory to His Name.
I'm just a turtle on a fence post.
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