Let Your Sails Down and Let God Blow You Where You Need to Be

Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven. Acts 27:17

During this storm, the Apostles let the sails down and let God guide the ship. Joel Osteen mentioned this today during his message "God is in Control of the Storm." One thing he said today that stuck with me is: "God directs the winds of the storm to place you where you need to go/be."

I find this is soooooo true. I always said something similar, "God takes you through things to prepare you for what he has in store for you." Now many people have derivations of this and we are all saying the same thing - He's preparing you for what's in store. He's preparing you and thus increasing your faith and trust in Him while you may be down here on Earth preparing yourself physically or mentally.

You can listen to just about anyone and hear how they got through a storm and on the other side was something better. Listen to Joel Osteen, Oprah, Tyler Perry, Jennifer Hudson, me, anyone, including you. Think about where you were last year, what trials you faced, how you got through them, and what the outcome was. God brought you through that and He'll bring you through them all.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

With that we must embrace every opportunity, every storm, every triumph, every trial because we know its all divinely ordered and according to His will, which shall be done.

Where am I going with this? Well, right now I'm on an external assignment but will return to my home office in a few months. My boss changed while I was gone and the new boss, despite what I already had planned, wants me to do something else. I'm not opposed to the move in mind because I am interested in the area the boss recommended, but I do not agree with his reasoning. I have learned to recognize when God is trying to move me. I also have learned that if God places something in your heart (like an interest on the job) that mean she's already ordered your steps to do it, He's just telling you about it now. I sacrificed leaving a position similar to the one being offered to accept the current external assignment. I loved the nature of the work I was leaving and now have an opportunity to combine that with what I've been doing for the past 5 years. How blessed is that! So, instead of fighting the reasoning behind the bosses rationale for the move, I am embracing God's delightful plan for me and realizing that the boss just didn't quite know how to sell God's divinely-ordered plan for me.

We know the story of Jennifer Hudson. She did not win American Idol that year, but Fantasia did. I believe God needed Fantasia to get that break then because he knew the resilience and strength He instilled in Jennifer and would bless her later. Now, we know both of them have gone on to have successful singing and acting careers. Both have prestigious accolades and respect in the industry for their talents. God gave each of them what He desired for them to have WHEN it was time. So, the lesson from Jennifer's side in this is to remain focused, faithful, and never give up. For God is directing the path - may not be what you want when you want it, but when He answers, boy He answers big.

So, to sum it all up: let those sails down and let God use those winds to push you where you need to be. LET GO and LET GOD.