Just get out of God's way...

Amidst some stress and nervousness of support raising, God's been teaching me so much! I can really see that He has me where I am now (even down to geographically) in my life because there's no other way for Him to show me what He wants to grow me in and have me really see why its so necessary.
The title of this blog came from a friend's facebook status. It read: "(friend) is insignificant...Just get out of God's way...." This really struck me in light of all God's been showing me lately. I'm a control freak by nature. I especially like knowing what the plan is at all times. Not exactly the norm with support raising. This is the most my trust in the Lord has ever been tried and stretched. I'm thankful for it though knowing all I've already learned and seeing that God's got so much more planned based on what He's done so far. There is of course part of human nature that shies from the Master's reproof. No one really wants to come to confrontation with sin and the disappointment and grief it causes God. Though without pruning, without continual exposure to refining fire, how can we ever hope to be molded into the image of Christ?
So many things I've been reading and listening to lately seem to tie together this theme. A sermon my pastor gave a couple of years ago entitled "Breaking the Press! God's Wisdom for Testing Times from James 1:1-8, 12, discussed the certainty and necessity of trials. A faith not tried is suspect as God uses trials to show that He is Sovereign and desires to conform us to the image of His Son. John chapter 15 comments on this through Jesus' teaching on the vine and the branches. Only branches God prunes will bear more fruit.
At the moment, I'm reading The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges and just started Humility by CJ Mahaney. Both are very convicting in their portrayal of sin. Sin grieves a holy, blameless and loving God-- period! Not having humility definitely hinders if not halts the pursuit of holilness. I'm looking forward to what God will teach me through these works. They were both given to me by wonderful sisters I've been blessed with.
This morning, the sermon was on being great at whatever God's called you to do instead of mediocre in a lot of things. A couple of the closing points were particularly thought-provoking: We are to work for an audience of One and invest in things that will last (affecting someone beyond my years doing so knowing the Lord may be the only-yet most important-One who ever knows....)
To tie all this in.... there are multiple ways to stand in God's way possibly without even realizing it: resistance to pruning, pride (absence of humility), letting fear hold you back from what you know God's called you to, fear of man/people-pleasing, taking control that should only belong to the One who holds the master plan...all of which are dangerous to your spiritual life.
One of the closing songs today was "Be Thou My Vision" (one of the ways I still hear God speak most is through music :) ) I thought it was also an appropriate way to wrap up this blog

Be Thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart
Nought be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word
I ever with Thee and Thou with me Lord
Thou my great Father and I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one

Riches I need not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance now and always
Thou and Thou only first in my heart
High king of heaven my treasure Thou art
Be Thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart
Nought be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

High king of heaven, my victory won
May I reach heaven's joy, bright heaven sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, oh ruler of all

Still be my vision, oh ruler of all