WHEN YOU WISH GOD WOULD SEND YOU AN EMAIL

“When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who know my way.”

Psalm 142:3

Do you ever wish God would just send you an email with a detailed, drawn out, clear, and step-by-step plan for your life? I know I do. I like to know what’s ahead. I like to know how it will all work out. I want direction. I want details. And I want to know CLEARLY what God is calling me to do, to not do, or to change. Have you been there? Are you there right now?

I remember when this photo was taken. It was an absolutely beautiful day at the Dallas Arboretum. The photographer eyed this spot, told me right where to stand, and climbed his way up a steep staircase to just the right spot for the shot. He told me to just bust out an arabesque with everything I got…and that he would capture it. All I could see right there in front of me was stone beneath my pointe shoes, which for a dancer, is not the safest place for a big arabesque, water two feet to my right, which again for a dancer, is not the safest place for a big arabesque, and I just remember being hot…sweat was starting to drip down the sides of my skin…not ideal for a photoshoot. So from my own perspective, I busted out that arabesque as best as I could…mama of three, busting out an arabesque…trying really hard not to fall into the water. :)

Now when I look at the photo, I think, I see, I feel this:

The photographer saw a beauty, a vision, and a picture that I couldn’t see…and could it be that just like that, God sees a beauty, a vision, and a picture that we cannot see.

Sometimes we want to know the whole plan. We want to know where God is leading us, how He is going to use us, and how it’s all going to work out right then and there. And it can simply deplete us when we are so busy trying to see the big picture that we miss the beauty right in front of us.

Maybe you are in a place where you do not know which choice to make, which door to walk through, what things in your life need to go, or what needs to stay. I want to encourage you today that GOD SEES IT ALL. He sees the grand, beautiful landscape of the whole story of your life. So how do we rest in that? How do we rest in the fact that He’s got it all?

There are two verses before today’s verse that maybe hold the key…

“I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out my complaint before Him; before Him I tell my trouble.” (Psalm 142:1-2)

Tell Him “my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who know my way.” Tell Him, you’re feeling a bit lost…that all you can see in front of you is hard stuff, deep water, or the heat from everyday life. Tell Him…then remind your soul that He knows your way.

He can see from a vantage point that you can’t see. So in the meantime, soak in the beauty that’s right in front of you. Look around at the blessings right in the here and now moments. Let go of trying to find that email with the detailed plan of your life because He wants to lead your life not with the plan laid out, but by faith in Him, trusting that He’s got you. You don’t have to wait until you get all the details to start living a life of purpose and joy right now. The key to joy and purpose is surrender and trust…in God’s ways, in His character, and His timing.

So today, go bust out an arabesque, knowing that the God of the universe sees the whole picture of your life. :)

Prayer: “Lord, I grow weary as I wonder what Your plans for me are. Help me remember that You see the whole picture. Help me let go of trying to find the details and instead hold it up to You, trusting that You will guide me through each and every decision, open door, or closed door. Remind me today in a fresh way that You see it all and give me fresh faith today as I choose to live with joy and purpose in the here and now. Thank You for loving me on the days I struggle to trust You. Deepen my trust. Deepen my faith. Deepen my joy as I surrender to You.”