فصل 20

PART FIVE

EMBRACE THE PLACE WHERE YOU ARE

CHAPTER 20

Embrace the Place Where You Are

Do you know someone who is not happy with where he or she is in life? She is frustrated because she is not married, and her internal body clock is sounding an alarm. Or he is upset because somebody is not treating him fairly on his career path. They are constantly worried, trying to reason things out, trying to change things that only God can change.

I believe that we create much of our own unhappiness and frustration by constantly resisting and fighting against situations and circumstances occurring in our lives. We don’t understand why our prayers aren’t being answered, why things aren’t changing sooner. “Why has this happened to me?” Consequently, we live with unrest and uneasiness on the inside.

Learn to relax and accept the place where you are. Admittedly, it may not be a great place right now. We all have things we want to see changed, things we want to happen sooner. If we really believe that God is in control and is directing our steps, then we must believe that we are exactly where we are supposed to be. We needn’t be wrestling with life and resisting our circumstances all the time.

Yes, we should resist the enemy; we should resist sickness and other robbers of joy. Now, that doesn’t mean that every minute we must be fighting and struggling. Some people seem to wear themselves out, constantly praying, resisting, and rebuking. They beg, “Please, God, you’ve got to change this situation. Change my husband. I don’t like my job. My child won’t do right.” No, turn all of that over to God. Your attitude should be: “God, I’m trusting You. I know that You are in control of my life. I may not understand everything that is happening, but I believe You have my best interests at heart. I’m not going to go around resisting and struggling. I’m going to relax and enjoy my life.” Friend, if you can sincerely pray such a prayer, it can take an enormous amount of pressure off you.

The Bible says to “Be still, and know that I am God.” Notice, you need to get still. You need to be at peace with where you are right now. Things may not be perfect. You may have some areas in which you need to improve. But as long as you are living with worry and stress, you are tying the hands of Almighty God. If you could get to a place of peace, God could fight your battles for you. He can turn your negative situations around and use them for good.

You may be saying, “Joel, you don’t understand my circumstances. I’m doing the right thing, but the wrong things are happening to me.” Or “I’m in a lousy marriage.” Or “People aren’t treating me right.” Please don’t use that as an excuse to live your life in the doldrums or in the pits. Consider the Old Testament character Joseph. He spent thirteen years in prison charged with a crime that he didn’t commit. He could have constantly fought that. He could have spent all his time trying to figure out why the horrific events happened to him. He could have easily lived his life upset, negative, and bitter, but he didn’t. He simply embraced the place where he was and made the best of a bad situation. His attitude was “God, this is where You have me right now. I may not like it. I may not understand it. I don’t think it’s fair, but I’m not dwelling on any of that. I’m going to keep doing my best, knowing that in the end, You are going to use this to my advantage.” That’s exactly what God did for him. God will do the same thing for you if you will keep your attitude positively focused on Him.

Understand that your faith will not instantly deliver you out of every problem. Instead, your faith will carry you through the problem. If God removed some of the things that you are praying for Him to remove right now, you wouldn’t be prepared for the promotion that He has in store for you. He’s using what you are currently going through to get you ready for the good things to come. If you are not getting your way, it doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love you. If your prayers aren’t being answered in the way you want, or on your timetable, it doesn’t mean that God is angry with you or that He is trying to punish you.

Get a bigger vision than that. Maybe it means God has something better in store. Maybe it means He’s protecting you from danger up ahead. Or maybe God is just trying to do a work in you so He can take you to a whole new level. Why don’t you quit resisting everything that’s going on in your life? Quit fighting against everything that doesn’t go your way.

I believe one of the best prayers that we could ever pray is “God, not my will, but Your will be done.” I pray it in some form every day: “God, open up the right doors and close the wrong doors.” If you will stay open to His direction, and follow your heart, God will protect you.

The first year I went away to college, I applied for a job at the university television studio. The school owned a large, well-known production facility, and I’d always wanted to be a part of it. The first week of school, I met with the production manager in charge of all the cameramen and hiring all the assistants. At that point, I had several years of camera experience under my belt.

The production manager went out of his way to be kind to me. He took a couple of hours to show me around, and we seemed to really hit if off. When it came time for me to leave, he said, “Joel, I’ll call you later this week and I’ll let you know about the job.” That week went by, and I didn’t hear from him. The next week, nothing. The following week, still no word. Finally, I called him, and he was always either busy or out of town. It was the strangest thing: I didn’t think I would have any problem getting that job, but the door simply wasn’t opening. Worse yet, I wanted it so badly, but I could see it just wasn’t meant to be. Finally, I accepted it and embraced the thought, “No big deal. I’m just going to let it go.” In retrospect, I now realize that if I had taken that position, I probably would not have returned to Lakewood Church to start a television outreach. I know my personality. I would have been so caught up in the excitement and I would have loved it so much, I’m sure I just would have stayed right there at the university TV station.

Too often, we’re shortsighted. We can see only a little ways down the road. God, though, can see the big picture. He knows when something is going to be a dead end. He knows when someone is going to be a distraction that will hinder us from our destiny.

One of the most important aspects of faith is trusting God even when we don’t understand. A good friend of mine contracted cancer. I called him to encourage him, and I thought he’d be all down and depressed, but I was pleasantly surprised. He said, “Joel, I’m at peace. I don’t like this, but I know God is still in control. And I believe in my heart that He’s going to bring me through this thing.”

If you’re in a hard place, be encouraged in knowing that God is still in control of your life. He made your body. He knows your circumstances. Don’t sit around depressed and discouraged. Your attitude should be “God, I’m trusting You. I know You can do what men can’t do, and I’m committing my life into Your hands.” That attitude of faith pleases God. People who have a made-up mind. People who say, “God, I’m going to trust You if I get my way or if I don’t get my way. I will trust You in the good times or the tough times.”