Growth Group Week 5 - Discovering God's Plan

This week's study was important, because now we understand that God wants to talk to us, that He wants to hear from us, but what is it He wants to say, and when is He going to say it? When we are unsure or impatient, we start to believe God isn't going to speak to us. These were two important lessons that needed to be learned.

Chapter 11 - An Invitational Voice. God doesn't force His will on us. He invites us to partner with Him to achieve His will in our lives. That shows how much He loves us. He wants us to do His will because we want to serve Him, not because we're functioning as robots. To accept this invitation means we have to let go of our own plans for our lives and submit to His. Letting go is often the difficult part. We want to be in control, women especially. We are so accustomed to being in charge of our homes, in charge of our children, in charge of our jobs (those that work outside the home), so when God says, "Let Me handle it," we SAY yes but we refuse to give in. We give Him a little bit and keep some for ourselves. Until we commit to giving God full control of our lives, we won't see the full benefits. Not sure what God's plan for your life is? Get connected at your local church. That's where God starts to show us our gifts and how He wants us to use them (Hebrews 10:25).

Chapter 12 - A Timely Voice. I think this was the most important chapter. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that God isn't slow about keeping His promises, but we are sooo impatient! When we pray, we want answers NOW! What we don't realize, is that God knows the future and we don't. He knows why He holds back on answering certain prayers; if He answered right away the results would be disasterous. We have to trust God even when we don't hear from Him right away. He isn't ignoring us; He's right there with us each step of the way. He will speak at the right time.

One thing God reminded me of with this chapter was a song by BarlowGirl (one of my absolute favorite Christian bands) called I Believe in Love. The song was inspired by writing found inside a men's concentration camp. At the worst time of their lives, these words were found carved into a wall:

I believe in the sun
even when it's not shining.
I believe in love
even when I don't feel it.
And I believe in God
even when He is silent.

Can you imagine how silent God seemed to those in the concentration camps? Can you picture the kind of faith that is needed to speak these words? They were so powerful, and I was glad God had me share them with our group. The impact was noticable.

Chapter 13 - A Fatherly Voice. Our Heavenly Father knows each one of us by name, knows more about us that we know about ourselves, and as a loving Father talks to each of us according to our individual needs. Isn't that what parenting is all about? Those of us that have more than one child know we don't treat each one exactly the same, even though we love each one. We deal with each one according to their personalities, their likes and dislikes, their gifts and weaknesses. God does the same. We learned how wrong it is to judge our Christian brothers and sisters simply because they choose to do things differently. God gives each of us instructions; if we criticize what God has led someone else to do, who are we really speaking against? We need to focus on what God is saying to us, not to everyone else.

Chapter 14 - A Challenging Voice. God loves taking us out of our comfort zone. He wants to challenge us to step out in faith. Mind you, He doesn't leave us to our own defenses; He equips us with whatever we need so His will can be carried out. But it usually is something we would NEVER consider doing on our own. Leading a small group is something this introvert was not about to attempt, yet God kept showing me that it was exactly what He wanted me to do. Because I obeyed, the blessings have been gynormous! Of course, God would still bless me if I wasn't leading a group and just attended one. But I think of what I would be missing, and I'm thankful God called me to do that which seemed so scary to me yet has been so amazing.

This Friday will be our last chapter, and I admit it's bittersweet. I've gotten to know some wonderful ladies, the study has been enlightening, and the Holy Spirit has been present and has spoken to each of us, working in our lives and through our lives. I feel so blessed, and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for our group of God-fearing women. Thank You Jesus for Your words of wisdom and love!