Monday, 7 December 2015

Get Me Outta Here!


Who Is God?

Someone who cares about where we are in life and what we are doing.


“When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’
“ ‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’
“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ 
Acts 22:17-21

We don't all get a dream of where God wants us to go, but there are other ways to find out his  will. If you are desperately unhappy with your lot in life - reach out to God. He will show you the way.


Who am I?

I just finished reading, "The Wrong Shade of Yellow," by Margaret Eleanor Leigh. I love the way she writes and I loved her story. The book begins when she has a government job she hates; she calls her workplace "The Ministry of Human Misery."  She writes, "Please get me out of here," I said to God, but God didn't seem to be listening. And then I woke in the surgical ward of Wellington Hospital." She said this wasn't what she'd had in mind, but it was effective. She never returned to her old job. Instead she traveled Europe on a bicycle.

One of my sisters said the same prayer to God. She hated living where she was; but it seemed to her she was stuck. "Get me outta here! she cried. After she prayed, she had to leave that place - there was no choice. She threw away most of her stuff, took off in her van and lived homeless. Her van had a bed already, she just bought a heater, a little stove and toilet. She said to me later, "This is the happiest I've been in my life."

Sometimes I wonder why we stay in situations that make us so unhappy. I guess the answer is fear, plain and simple fear. We fear having no money, starting out all over again at an older age, what the future will hold, etc. So many fears, so we stay in the same job, same house, same life.

God is certainly wonderful to force us to move our butts when we feel immobile. He doesn't say, "Hey, Stupid. Can't you figure this our yourself?"  Nope, he takes the bull by the horns and says, "She/He asked for my help and I'm going to give it. They may not like my methods, but in the end, they will thank me."  And he is right; we thank him. What an amazing God!