"Galaxies" - Trusting God in Every Step

"Dear God, I was terribly lost,

When the galaxies crossed,

And the sun went dark."

  ~ from "Galaxies" by Owl City ~ 

The song "Galaxies" by Owl City is full of emotion - both pain and joy, questions and yet determination.

Right now I'm at a place where I want and need that sort of attitude. I'm full of confusion as to what I need to do next in life. I feel "terribly lost." I was tempted to write a sad, hurting post earlier this morning about my uncertainty when it comes to finding that one next step God wants me to take...

But where is the joy and the determination? God has provided for me thus far. I'm blessed beyond measure! Do I think He's not going to guide me? Do I fear that He's leaving me in the dark?

Author MaryLu Tyndall wrote a beautiful post today about "Eternity and Provision in Every Step." In it she reminds us that God truly cares about us, and we should have deep peace knowing that God is with us at every step and that He has prepared things for us - a path, a purpose, and grace for the journey.

I can't help but wonder - when I feel neglected and uninformed and lost, is it because I'm looking at a fork in the road way up ahead? Maybe I'm expecting my next step to be one that takes me over there, when I should be focusing on what God wants me to do right here, right now.

And a few verses in the book of Hosea remind me that we don't always understand or appreciate what God is doing in our lives...

"When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.... 

I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them. I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them." 

~ Hosea 11:1, 3-4 ~

I don't think any of us can know during our lives on earth just how much God does for us. Just think...

"...they knew not that I healed them."

God cradled the people of Israel, protecting them and providing for them. But they didn't recognize that God healed them, or that He acted out of love for them. 

I'm sure I'm too often guilty of the same, and how it must break God's heart. 

I still have so much to learn about trusting in the Lord, about seeking His guidance but also living for Him where I am, and recognizing His goodness to me, and resting in His plan and His timing. 

So I sing with Adam Young - 

"Oh, telescope, keep an eye on my only hope,

Lest I blink and get swept off the narrow road."

 
    "Dear God, You're the only North Star I would follow this far."   

(Music video from YouTube. Learn more about Owl City at the Owl City website.)

Sunday by the Sea

"Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?.... Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?"
~ Job 38:8, 16

I finished two very sweet books in the past couple of days (A Path Less Traveled by Cathy Bryant and Give the Lady a Ride by Linda Yezak), and I was blessed by a wonderful truth reaffirmed in both of these books: God is trustworthy. Both of these books shared these verses:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
~ Proverbs 3:5-6

I confess that I've seen these verses often, and because of that I don't think I always pay as much attention to them as I should when I read them or hear them. But the truth is that it doesn't matter how "familiar" God's word becomes to us--we still have much we need to learn from it.

Thinking more about these verses, I've been reminded of the words: "in all thy ways acknowledge him." Lately the focus for me has been on my writing. I know I need to trust in His guidance and His will for my story that I recently finished writing (the first draft, anyway!) and any possible future stories He may want me to write. Of course, this is a constant struggle, and I need God's help to remain humble--open to help and open to His direction.

But it's not just in my writing that I need to learn to trust God. I need to trust Him with school, with my friends and family, with my hopes, etc.

My dear friend Casey at Writing for Christ had a post series on her blog this past week about purity and trusting God's timing and will for those of us who have yet to meet that "special someone."

Last night as others at my school were out at different social events and I stayed in my dorm room, I felt overwhelmed with confusion and longing. As much as I want to be happy for others, it sometimes hurts to be single. I wonder if I'm undesirable. I wonder if I'll always be single. I wonder why I even let it bother me so much.

But I need to trust God in all my ways. How the Lord can be so merciful and patient with me is amazing! One moment I can feel so at peace about my life, and the next I can be consumed with self-pity.

Yet God doesn't change. The God who showed Job who was in control of all things (including the vast and deep sea) is the same God who is walking beside me each day. He is sovereign and completely trustworthy, and I can always rest in His faithfulness, knowing that He can see far beyond my limited vision.

He is trustworthy.

(Picture is from PDPhoto.org. Also note that my review of A Path Less Traveled will be posted here on Tuesday, and my review of Give the Lady a Ride will be posted on The Borrowed Book on Monday.)