I know what it's like to have huge dreams, to work my tail off to bring them to pass and then to have it all fade to black just when I thought it was all coming together.
I know what disappointment is. Think about that word and break it in half like this -- 'dis' 'appointment' as if God has DISSED the appointment you were sure that He had promised to you. If you've ever been disappointed with God or felt like He was 'dis-appointing' you then you've been forced to do something internally about that. You've most likely 'quit believing in God' (even though you may still show up at church for political correctness) or you've wondered what you've done wrong to cause God to be so mad that He'd let you down. Or, you learn to trust Him in the midst of a story that you wish wasn't being written. What we must all learn is that 'control' is an illusion that we're never really in 'control' of the stuff that matters most in life. It's when we realize that only God is in control and we willingly let Him write His-story through our lives that we find the peace, joy, contentment and power that Christ brings to those who surrender the pen to Him.
Two books that I've read recently will help you learn to give the pen up faster and enjoy the story that God is writing more...even when He's writing painful chapters that cause us to suffer, to wait, and to long for a happy ending.
Here they are:
Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson and Plan B by Pete Wilson
Both of these will build your faith in God and restore you to place of peace while you live through 'Plan B's that we all face.
No easy path, no formulas. Just learning to abide, to trust, to wait, to surrender faster, to hand over the pen to the Author of all life.
Have a great day,
Jeff
Jeff Fuson -Point Leader of Phos Church near Louisville Kentucky -Leadership Keynote Speaker -Husband / Daddy -Missional Church Planter
The Life Purpose Guy -- helping Entrepreneurial Christ Followers Bring Good Things to Life
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
What do you do when your dream goes bust?
We'll all face a moment when all that we've hoped for and believed in and just 'knew' that God would do falls apart. What do you do then?
Pete Wilson asks it well on page 9 of his new book, "Plan B". He asks, "What do you do when God doesn't show up for you in the way you thought God was going to show up?"
I can't tell you how many times I've pouted, been upset, gotten mad, ran from God, tried to maniupulate the world to give me what I thought I had to have when I felt let down by God. It happens when God's time table doesn't match my calendar. It happens when all the 'stuff' that I've been trying to orchestrate to help God do the plan I have in mind crumbles into dust and blows away. It happens when the dream is still-born after months of preparation, planning, and hard work. It happens to me all the time.
It doesn't happen as much as it used to, because I've learned that His plan always trumps mine and that even when He's doing things in ways that make no sense to me that He's still on His throne and He's still in control AND, He still loves me and promises to work all things in my favor in the long game -- way out in the future where I have no clue of what's going to happen. I'm learning to have a deep confidence in the goodness of God and to wait on His provision in the way that He deems best . More to the point, I'm learning to quit trying to manipulate the world into following my plan for the universe and to simply trust that God is on the move even when it makes no sense to me. It's a much more peaceful way to live and a whole lot more fun to live with expectation that God is on the move and that He'll take care of me and He'll do the heavy lifting on His timefrrame. Mostly, it's cool to just walk with God and watch Him do His thing!
So, what about you? What are you experiencing that's causing you to want to run or control or manipulate to regain control? What are you learning about God? Does your circumstance tempt you to give up on God?
We'll be tackling this whole arena of 'Plan B Living' at Phos Church this Sunday, October 3 at 10 AM over at Oldham County High School.
Jeff Fuson -Point Leader of Phos Church near Louisville Kentucky -Leadership Keynote Speaker -Husband / Daddy -Missional Church Planter
Pete Wilson asks it well on page 9 of his new book, "Plan B". He asks, "What do you do when God doesn't show up for you in the way you thought God was going to show up?"
On pages 21 he reminds us that, "this is no time to give up on God....
Your dreams may not be happening, and things
are not turning out the way you expected, but that
doesn't mean your life is spinning out of control.
It just means that YOU'RE NOT IN CONTROL. It's
in those moments you can learn to trust the only one
who has ever had control in the first place."I can't tell you how many times I've pouted, been upset, gotten mad, ran from God, tried to maniupulate the world to give me what I thought I had to have when I felt let down by God. It happens when God's time table doesn't match my calendar. It happens when all the 'stuff' that I've been trying to orchestrate to help God do the plan I have in mind crumbles into dust and blows away. It happens when the dream is still-born after months of preparation, planning, and hard work. It happens to me all the time.
It doesn't happen as much as it used to, because I've learned that His plan always trumps mine and that even when He's doing things in ways that make no sense to me that He's still on His throne and He's still in control AND, He still loves me and promises to work all things in my favor in the long game -- way out in the future where I have no clue of what's going to happen. I'm learning to have a deep confidence in the goodness of God and to wait on His provision in the way that He deems best . More to the point, I'm learning to quit trying to manipulate the world into following my plan for the universe and to simply trust that God is on the move even when it makes no sense to me. It's a much more peaceful way to live and a whole lot more fun to live with expectation that God is on the move and that He'll take care of me and He'll do the heavy lifting on His timefrrame. Mostly, it's cool to just walk with God and watch Him do His thing!
So, what about you? What are you experiencing that's causing you to want to run or control or manipulate to regain control? What are you learning about God? Does your circumstance tempt you to give up on God?
We'll be tackling this whole arena of 'Plan B Living' at Phos Church this Sunday, October 3 at 10 AM over at Oldham County High School.
Jeff Fuson -Point Leader of Phos Church near Louisville Kentucky -Leadership Keynote Speaker -Husband / Daddy -Missional Church Planter
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
AVOCA Bike Trail near Millford, Ohio
Did my Great Aunt's funeral up here then visited Jeff and Val Arrington's brand new SonRise Church campus which is so warm and inviting!! Then I discovered a magnificent bike trail just across the road. Hour ride before the drive back to Buckner and loving it!
Got to ride fast to get back to the car before dark!
Got to ride fast to get back to the car before dark!
On the go with my IPhone. Follow me on Twitter at JeffFuson
AVOCA Bike Trail near Millford, Ohio
Got to ride fast to get back to the car before dark!
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