Going Your Own Way?

Hi Friends,

I hope you are doing well and that you prosper as your souls prosper!  We are living in stressful and changing times. As I look at the cars passing by, at such great speeds on the highway, I wonder, where are they going so fast?  Do they know where their lives and decisions are taking them?  How many of them know the Lord?  

We need to stop and reflect, take a time-out from the hustle and bustle. We are so busy, that we simply react to what is going around us. Minute by minute, we are changing lanes, starting, stopping, and turning without any thought as to where we are going in life.  Someone said, “Busyness is not of the devil, it is the devil!”

We need to stop and break-free from this stimulus-response cycle and get away with God.  He is the very author of life.  We need to ask him, “Am I doing all this to please myself, to please others or do I merely do what the world has dictated to me that I am supposed to do?”  Is God even considered in our decisions?  How did we get here in the first place?

I have three visions to share with you today.  Perhaps, these may shed light on who we are, and where we are going.

The Visions

The Chair

The chair in the first vision is a tall wing-back chair, fully upholstered in a dark coral colored fabric.  The seat cushion appeared to be made of foam that had been depressed on one side.  I try to depress the other side and plump up the cushion to return it to its original shape.

I was an interior designer for twenty years in Chicago, but that was many years ago.  However, I still appreciate and desire visual order and the seat bothered me to see it in that shape.  Every one of us has a picture in our minds of what, where and how things should be.  Most of the decisions we make ourselves, are based on the criteria we consider important.  Conflict arises when our criteria does not align with someone else’s criteria. 

The chair in the vision I recognize as one of two identical chairs in the club room of the building in which I live.  They are not my favorite chairs, but they are a part of the seating where we gather twice a week for prayer.  In the vision, the chair had lost its shape from hard used  I guess this is a good thing, since we sit there for prayer.  It may be that all the intercessors and everyone that prays, needs a bit of plumping up.  We need to encourage and pray for one another.  And a necessary part of faith is having the ability to release our burdens to the Lord.  His shoulders are bigger than ours.  When we give him our burdens and our prayer requests to Him, he gives us peace!  We know that our loved ones and our concerns are in his faithful hands. 

The Lord knows our struggles, our problems and that and sin comes in every shape and form, but through prayer we can with God’s help, overcome every obstacle and every hindrance that we face.  So let us continue to support one another in prayer.  

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9

We know that with God all things are possible:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:13

We are to cast our burdens upon the Lord, and know that his promises are “Yes,” and Amen!

 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Let us help carry each other’s burdens to God in prayer. 

Is any one of you suffering?  He should pray.  Is anyone cheerful?  He should sing praises. Is any one of you sick?  He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick.  The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.  Elijah was a man just like us.  He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.  Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.  James 5:13-18

What is most important in prayer is to pray in the Spirit, for God himself prays through us:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  Romans 8:26 

If you do not speak in tongues, just ask God. It is He who equips us to pray according to his will. 

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”  Luke 11:13 

Paul tells us to pray in the Spirit on all occasions.  So please ask God to baptize you with fire and the Holy Spirit so that you can pray, worship and speak in tongues, for this is your prayer language!   

The Cyclist

In this vision, I saw a female cyclist dressed completely in red.  She had a red helmet, with a dark visor so that you could not see her face.  She had tight fitting red spandex pants and boots.  She also had a red short jacket with long sleeves and gloves.  When she came to a stop, she jumped forward off the scooter as if she were a young girl on a lady’s bike.  She stood there waiting with her hands still on the handlebars and her legs straddling the bike.

The young woman was dressed in red which is significant.  Red usually means blood, bloodshed or sin.  Because she was covered in red from head to toe, I believe the red represents sin.  She was riding a small motorcycle or scooter, which indicates that she is independent and self-motivated.  She makes her own decisions and goes her own way.  In the vision, she stops and jumps off, however she does not leave her bike.  She still straddles it and has her hands on the handlebars, so that at a moment’s notice she could start it up again, and go where she chooses.

One form of sin we don’t always recognize as sin is our independence from God.  We want to call the shots.  We are willful people who do not like to be told what to do.  I remember the Lord said to me once:  “I keep my angels around you, but you go your own way.”  

I am a willful person.  I am constantly trying to surrender my will to the Lord’s, for it does not come naturally.  But if we want to be used by God we need to be able to say as Jesus did:

“…Not my will, but yours, be done.”  Luke 22:42

Our willfulness and our failure to surrender to God’s authority gets us into trouble every time:

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Proverbs 14:12

The enemy tempts us to go another way, to choose what we think is best for us.  I am sure you have heard the song lyrics: “I did it my way!”  And “Do your own thing.”  And the expression:  Just follow your heart!”

These are the world’s views on independence, but they are contrary to the word of God.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”  Jeremiah 17:9

We are not to trust our own hearts.  For our desires come from the flesh and the pride of life.  These are certainly capable of leading us astray.

For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.  1 John 2:16 

The vision of the woman on the scooter can also represent the church.  It is hard to imagine the very institution that is to direct us to God’s ways and to his kingdom, can instead use us to build a worldly kingdom for men on this earth.  The woman was standing.  Something stopped her for just a moment–perhaps to consider her ways.

Let’s open the book of Haggai for a look into how this can happen.  The Jewish exiles were allowed to return to the land of Israel to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple.  The people were at first enthusiastic to undertake the project.  But after the walls were repaired, they and began rebuilding the temple. It seemed rather ordinary compared  to the magnificent temple that Solomon had built and was later destroyed.  So they became discouraged and gave up.  For 14 years they did nothing except work on their own homes and their own properties.  God understood why it happened, but he was greatly disappointed in their failure to continue.  He responded by withholding rain, so that they would experience hardship and lack. He does this in hopes that they would turn to him in repentance. But it took a prophet to show them God’s heart in the matter.

“You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little.  What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the LORD Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.”   Haggai 1:9   

Once they understood that God would help them build, and bring a greater glory to this temple, than the first temple, they felt empowered to complete it.

Our own plans, desires, dreams and goals can derail God’s plan for our lives.  So many do not consult the Lord or know his heart.  They simply do what others are doing.  And often they take their cues from the world rather than the word of God.  They go to church and claim to be Christians, but without knowing Him, and knowing the word of God, they can become like the Pharisees who Jesus referred to as hypocrites:

You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”  Matthew 15:7-9

It is important to know the word, for otherwise we can sin and be unaware of how it opens doors to the devil and his demons.  Many activities that the world offers should not entice the believer.  But too many see no harm in participating.  The word of God protects us from coming to the wrong conclusions.  We need to know the word for we do not want to be condemned for the things in which we take part or endorse.

Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.  Romans 14:22 

The Briefcase

In this vision, I saw a man’s briefcase covered in dark brown leather with a sewn leather handle and brass trim. Inside the briefcase were rags and hand towels used for cleaning.  There was nothing besides the cleaning rags.  No papers or files, or a laptop as one might expect.  And there were no cleaning supplies, like spray bottles or rubber gloves.  In the vision, I saw someone’s hands trying to put smaller towels and rags around the sides to squeeze in a few more to fill the briefcase to capacity.  On the top of the stack was a yellow rag, which is like the ones I use for general cleaning.

The color yellow is not significant in this vision, for it is there merely to identify the small towel or rags as cleaning rags.

This past Saturday, the church had a Spring cleaning day and there were about 20 people participating.  I cleaned a slop sink, two refrigerators and the kitchen floor at the church.  I had brought my own bucket, gloves and both yellow and blue cleaning rags.

For me, cleaning is therapeutic.  I told my husband very early in our marriage, “When you see me cleaning like crazy, just leave me alone.”  Everyone wants some sense of order in their lives.  For me, being a designer, I need visual peace.  I have seen many businesses, workrooms and offices, homes and commercial spaces.  Organization and space planning are truly important if you want the facility to run well and hum like a well tuned machine.  Where there is disorder, there is chaos, low productivity and morale issues.

I remember one such job.  It was a very large nationally recognized insurance company’s processing center.  This huge office building was filthy, and there must have been at least 5 different generations of desks, all different finishes and styles.  The building was more of a warehouse or factory space with one large continuous open space, branching into other very large open spaces.  As I walked through the building, I could not help but notice how run down and dirty the interior was.  There were mismatched desks and chairs everywhere.  There were no chair mats so that the casters of the various chairs had destroyed the carpet, and worn through the underlayment to the wood floor beneath.  Even the wood floor itself was very worn with no finish left on the wood.

I can’t imagine the employees’ morale in a mess such as this.  I can’t imagine how anyone can work effectively and efficiently in a place that is dirty and in poor shape.  There was no signage separating one department from another.  There was no privacy for phone calls.  There was no rhyme or reason given for its placement of desks and files.  It totally lacked organization.  I personally believe that a cluttered, disorganized space points to a leadership with a cluttered mind.  This may be why some companies are on top of their game and others perform very poorly.  

The briefcase in the vision is about work.  Our country was built on hard work and the “Protestant work ethic.”

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”  Colossians 3:23-24  

We should do everything as if unto the Lord for this pleases him.  We have to move away from our notions of entitlement and complacency.  We are to do all things with excellence and we should teach our children to do the same. The Lord sees all things.  He knows our hearts and he certainly knows our motives.  When we complain, and criticize and do nothing to help the situation, we become a hindrance to the work of God.  He wants us to be diligent and timely regarding the things he asks of us. 

In the story of the talents, we know that the man who did not invest his masters money was punished for his unfaithfulness.  The Lord called him a lazy servant who should have at the least put his money in a bank where it could earn interest.  Instead he took the one talent (money) and buried it in the ground. We have to ask ourselves, are we working for God, or simply doing what we think God wants.  Are we good stewards of the things the Lord has given us, or are we simply doing what we see others doing.

We know that the word of God says that “If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”  (Matthew 15:14)  If we simply follow the crowd we will find ourselves going the wrong way.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.  Matthew 7:13-14 

Years ago, I received several dreams that showed that I was going the opposite direction of everyone else.  The Lord wanted me to know that this was to be my expectation, his plan for my life.  His plan for me was not to follow others and go the way of the world, but to separate from it and go the way he would show me.  This is the Christian walk.  It is a walk that is separate.  It can be a lonely walk, and a walk of sorrows.  Not many will choose to go this way.  We can and should expect to be rejected, and hated, by co-workers, neighbors, and family.  Occasionally we will be rejected even by those in the church or its leaders.  But the Lord tells us to prefer one another over ourselves and to live at peace with all men:

Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.  Live in harmony with one another.  Do not be proud, but associate with the lowly.  Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.  If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.  Romans 12:14-18

Now back to the vision, The rags are for cleaning up whatever is dirty.  Dirt can represent sin and the dust on our shoes.  We can pick up ideas and habits from the world and become “unclean.” We can become “unclean” from our association with people who do not adhere to God’s ways.  I am not speaking of being legalistic in any way.  It is simply that we become like the company we keep.  The word tells us not to have close relationships with non-believers.  Their actions and opinions can shape ours and lead us to compromise our own faith.  

There are times when we need to separate from people who have a negative influence over us.  To follow the Lord requires us to put him first and our own feelings and desires aside. We no longer live for ourselves, but we live for God.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

When Jesus sent his disciples out to share the good news of the Gospel, he wanted them to know up front that there would be those who would not receive them or the word they would share.  They were to shake off the dust of that town, so that they would not be affected by their negativity and rejection. Many fail to do this and become angry and bitter. This is how some become unclean. But we shake it off, forgive those who offend us, and move forward proclaiming the word of God with signs following!  To hold onto the dirt or dust only causes us to lose heart or forget why we were sent.  To hold onto an offense, opens the door to the devil and puts a hamper on the power of God flowing through us.

And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.  Matthew 10:14

We have to shake off the dirt that comes from the world.  We have to not take offense, but give it to the Lord.  We have to keep our hearts right with God, which means to be willing to always forgive others for the Lord has forgiven us.  And when we sin, we have to ask the Lord to forgive us too.  

There is always much to take in with scripture and the visions the Lord shares with us.  It is a constant shaping and molding process to live the Christian life, walking in love and devotion to the Lord and those he wants to reach.

Lord help us to be willing to learn, to grow, to change and to mature in Christian love, faith and character.  We cannot do it alone.  We need your Holy Spirit to empower us to do your will.  Bless us all Lord as we choose to draw close to you!   Amen!