In the refining fire....

I've said it many times on my other blog...waiting is just hard.

I don't understand why things happen the way they do. It frustrates me that some of my awesome girl friends don't have men in their lives that could potentially be someone perusing them. It frustrates me that some people are dying waiting for hearts. It frustrates me that people I know are loosing their babies after a hope of answered prayer. It frustrates me that Christians who are willing to actually let the Holy Spirit rule their lives are being told they are "judgers". I don't understand and it's frustrating.

I was watching Veggie Tales Esther today with the kids, Esther didn't understand what God was doing. She probably felt far from God in the position she was in. God hadn't laid out His plan before Esther to say, "this and this are going to happen, but don't worry because my plan is to do this"...she didn't know God's plan...all she had was the faith that He had one. Sometimes when we are put in uncomfortable situations where we are tested or moved or burdened we might feel far from God's plan...but there is no where in scripture where God didn't have a plan. Nothing shocks Him. It may scare us almost to death, but He is always standing. Esther was taken from her humble home and went into essentially the enemies camp, there she had to go through the steps to try and win the King over even though she probably just wanted to go home. While there God's plan only started to unfold after she was selected as Queen. She didn't know what God was up to, but she didn't need to know, all she needed to do was to trust Him.

Have you ever been put in a position where you had to go about what you felt was right only being be led by God as each step came?
Have you ever had your faith tested in a circumstance you never even thought you'd enter into?

Would you take up a position or a circumstance that you may have otherwise avoided?

I would have struggled with fully trusting God in the position Esther was in. Being one of the girls trying to win the Kings affections knowing he might not be a man of God...I might have ran away telling myself "God would surly never put me in this position"...but if it wasn't for Esther...she and her people could have died.
She humbled herself to be taken in the crowd of the world....much like Jesus...and once she knew what she needed to do...she did it. It still wasn't clear to her what God's plan was, but she saw the opportunity and she trusted God.

I struggle with that.

Sunday night at my church we watched Louie Giglio "Fruitcake and Ice Cream" and there was a girl who was a Christian, but her roommate wasn't, and this Christian girl exhibited so much grace that she never made her roommate feel judged, but she was a huge testimony to her in the process.
I know I struggle with grace. I was talking to God today about how His statutes and teachings are so engraved in me, but in ways of grace I lack so much knowledge. I need to work on this, and so I prayed that God would teach me more about grace and help me to learn it and apply it.

Is there anything you might need to learn more about?

God longs to teach us, not because we are stupid...but because He is awesome! :)