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CC I'm getting scared about moving.


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I've been worrying about how much trouble we've had after making the decision to move to another state. One thing after another has gone wrong.

 

First, two potential landlords deciding to remain living in their homes instead of renting them out after they had already agreed to rent to us. DH had to return to PA to locate a place to live and an office, we spent money we didn't have to do that, and he did not make enough money in May to support us because he was in PA for over 2 weeks, in all.

 

Last, my husband rented a large office and when the men were moving the 186 bookcases inside, they realized that the ceilings are only 6'10" high. The bookcases are 7' tall. The landlord offered to let DH out of the lease, but we have nowhere else to go and no more money to move the 4 trailers of books and furniture to another place.

 

How could both the landlord and DH not realize how low the ceilings were? Both men said they honestly did not realize that. Don't ask me: I cannot think of a rational reason for that.

 

In between, a lot of other bad things have happened, and seem to keep happening. I mean, last week I nearly lost it because every time I answered the phone, another unexpected problem had cropped up. Solving the problems always costs money.

 

Now, we've prayed and prayed about this. The scariest thing of all is what if we are making a huge mistake? It can't be easily corrected, now or in the foreseeable future, because we don't have the money to change course.

 

Could it be that so many bad things are happening to us because God doesn't want us to move there after all, and we are just too dumb to realize it?

 

OTOH, why would we be too dumb? We've prayed and thought about the situation and it does seem to be the only avenue available to use. It isn't even something we want to do. We want to stay here, or at least in New England. But that is impossible because we can't afford to do that, period.

 

A dear friend of mine said that we can be doing God's will and still have these problems due to attacks on us by Satan.

 

Could that be true? Why? If what we are doing is God's will, wouldn't the path be smooth, or at least smoother? He is much more powerful than Satan, after all.

 

Plus, why would Satan hammer us? What would be the point? Satan cannot make me turn away from the Lord. I may not understand why something bad had to happen, and I may not like it at all, but that would not make me turn my back on God.

 

My friend said maybe my faith is being tested. Well, God already knows how much faith I have, so why would He seemingly play games with testing it? Gosh, I hope that was okay to think. Right now, frankly, I think my faith would be stronger if things went right for a change. Or maybe I'd have a heart attack out of shock if things went right, and since I have a serious heart condition, the shock effect is lower when things go wrong because I'm getting used to that.

 

I don't have that "knowing" about this situation. Mostly I just have fear that this will not work out for us. I'm not a basket case about it 24/7: That happens late at night, after the kids go to bed.

 

So yesterday, I hauled out Billy Graham's book about the Holy Spirit, and I'm reading it, hoping to find out something. Maybe He is missing from my life? Would He just leave? Could I be doing something so wrong that I deserve to be punished? Like yelling when I found out about those low ceilings? I'm trying not to dwell on that, but it I do get very, very angry if I think about it too much.

 

I need some words of wisdom. Please.

 

RC

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When I'm in those kind of situations I could do one of two things. I could turn in anger towards God and reject Him. I could decide that He hates me or isn't there. But I trust God's word. And I trust the evidence I've seen in my life in the past that shows me that He doesn't hate me and is there.

 

So then I have to choose the second option - to trust Him to work things out "somehow". I think that God often puts us in impossible situations so that we have no choice but to totally trust Him. And by learning to trust Him in that impossible situation, He is helping me to grow spiritually because actually we're supposed to trust in Him in the same way even when things are going really well.

 

I wish I lived close so I could pitch in and help you. I pray for you and your family. And I can assure you that God loves His children very much.

 

And no, the Holy Spirit will not leave you ever. But if you sin by yelling (or any other sin) there is a breach in your relationship with God (although the relationship is still there). If you confess your sin to God (I John 1:9) then that breach in the relationship is healed and the Holy Spirit will be guiding you once more.

 

I don't think that God's will is so much a "plan A" or "plan B" sort of thing so much as a 'relational' sort of thing. God's given you certain resources to help you deal with problems in life. Some of them are the promises in the Bible. Claiming those promises (like the one that says "He will never leave you nor forsake you") is one way to handle a problem the way that God wants you to. Thinking through some of the principles of God's word is another way. Just relying on God to help you (trusting Him) is another way to deal with problems. These are not easy to do because your mind wants to go in panic, fear, anger and frustration - all sins that take you away from trust in God.

Edited by Jean in Newcastle
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Bless your heart. :grouphug: You are exhausted. Please take care of yourself today...maybe take the phone off the hook for an hour and prop your feet up. My daughter and I are reading a wonderful book together called Affliction by Edith Schaeffer. She covers all sorts of reasons for the suffering of individuals in such a compassionate way. Her reasoning for the *why* gave me a fresh perspective. So, imagine that God is loving us and watching us, and here comes Satan to frustrate and bully Him. He uses someone as an example to try and prove his case that another Christian has 'fallen beneath the pressure of affliction in his life and turned away from God'. And then God smiles and uses another Christian who has been victorious through their suffering and has remained full of faith and trusting in God, even when his circumstances were difficult and seemed hopeless. So Satan loses that little victory and starts looking for someone else to torment God about. So it's all really a battle between God and Satan, and we know that God will win in the end and Satan will lose. I just never thought about Satan picking on the Lord, and using US as the examples. So, when we face affliction or suffering or pain, we can rest in Him, trust Him, believe that He has our very best in mind...no matter what. Look at disappointments as blessings in disguise. Keep praying for strength, clarity of mind, and peace, RC. He is still in charge, and knows exactly what you need. It will all fall into place at the perfect time, and you will grow all the stronger for it. :grouphug:

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Don't beat yourself up over the problems. I'm sure they're just random hiccups of the sort that everyone, saint and sinner alike, has to face in these situations. Just keep plowing forward the best you can.

 

(And buy your husband a measuring tape!)

Edited by KingM
stupid typo
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I just want to say that 3 inches in the height of the ceiling is usually not that big of a deal. Even if they took time to measure one wall, in an older building it is possible that with settling different walls are different heights. I am so sorry it has made such a difficulty for you.

 

About your faith being tested- sometimes we don't know how much we can bear until we are tested. God may know you have deeper or stronger faith but has to show you that so that you may grow.

 

There could be other answers as well. I am not trying to be mean, but maybe God is saying to you that it is time for your family to give up the books and just depend on Him for the time. Could it be you are placing possessions before him and not even realizing it? I know I have been guilty of that. Are the books of value that could be sold and cover the financial problems you are experiencing? Or to help you sustain yourselves. God may want you to move, but he may be saying, "Look, the books are what I allowed to to collect just for a time like this."

 

Stepping out in faith is never easy. Ever. :grouphug:

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I know you probably don't have time for leisure reading right now, but when you can get this book: Just Do Something: How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc. Here is the synopsis:

Pastor and author Kevin DeYoung counsels Christians to settle down, make choices, and do the hard work of seeing those choices through. Too often, he writes, God's people tinker around with churches, jobs, and relationships, worrying that they haven't found God's perfect will for their lives. Or—even worse—they do absolutely nothing, stuck in a frustrated state of paralyzed indecision, waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting for clear, direct, unmistakable direction. But God doesn't need to tell us what to do at each fork in the road. He's already revealed his plan for our lives: to love him with our whole hearts, to obey His Word, and after that, to do what we like.

 

DeYoung's understanding of the will of God and God's guidance is very consistent with Friesen and Swavely and a whole host of others. He distinguishes between God's secret will (or will of decree), God's revealed will (will of desire) and God's will for our lives (will of direction). God's will of decree is his secret will, ordained from all of time--a will that is going to come to pass and that no man can thwart. God's will of desire is his will as revealed in Scripture--a will we sometimes obey and at other times disobey. God's will of direction is the one that answers those questions we have about jobs and spouses and houses and all the rest.

 

Here's the real heart of the matter, according to DeYoung. "Does God have a secret will of direction that He expects us to figure out before we do anything? And the answer is no." Though we are free to ask for his direction and though we ought to be devoted to prayer in all matters, God does not burden us with seeking his will of direction ahead of our decisions. "God does have a specific plan for our lives, but it is not one that He expects us to figure out before we make a decision." "Trusting in God's will of decree is good. Following his will of desire is obedient. Waiting for God's will of direction is a mess."

 

The solution is simple: we are to have confidence in God's hidden will, we are to search out and believe and obey God's will as expressed in the Bible, and we are then to use wisdom to make decisions that God will bless. We are to use what Dave Swavely aptly terms "sanctified reasoning." DeYoung leaves the reader to consider this: "If there really is a perfect will of God we are meant to discover, in which we will find tremendous freedom and fulfillment, why does it seem that everyone looking for God's will is in such bondage and confusion?"

 

Here, then, is how we are to live within God's will: "So go marry someone, provided you're equally yoked and you actually like being with each other. Go get a job, provided it's not wicked. Go live somewhere in something with somebody or nobody. But put aside the passivity and the quest for complete fulfillment and the perfectionism and the preoccupation with the future, and for God's sake start making some decisions in your life. Don't wait for the liver-shiver. If you are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, you will be in God's will, so just go out and do something." God's will for your life is really not as complicated as you may be making it out to be.

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:grouphug: I'm sorry you're going through all this. I will pass along something my dh told me during a time when I felt like God had left me and allowed awful things to happen. I was struggling and it made me very angry that my dh wasn't struggling and seemed to have a firm grasp on his faith through all the difficulty. I finally lost it and told him that I was angry and how in the world did he remain so full of faith when things were so cr*ppy? His answer to me is one I have gone back to many times in tough situations. He said, "I trust the nature of God. He is incapable of being anything but good."

 

HTH - hang in there. Remember that this is a season in your life, and seasons do change.

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I just want to say that 3 inches in the height of the ceiling is usually not that big of a deal. Even if they took time to measure one wall, in an older building it is possible that with settling different walls are different heights. I am so sorry it has made such a difficulty for you.

 

About your faith being tested- sometimes we don't know how much we can bear until we are tested. God may know you have deeper or stronger faith but has to show you that so that you may grow.

 

There could be other answers as well. I am not trying to be mean, but maybe God is saying to you that it is time for your family to give up the books and just depend on Him for the time. Could it be you are placing possessions before him and not even realizing it? I know I have been guilty of that. Are the books of value that could be sold and cover the financial problems you are experiencing? Or to help you sustain yourselves. God may want you to move, but he may be saying, "Look, the books are what I allowed to to collect just for a time like this."

 

Stepping out in faith is never easy. Ever. :grouphug:

 

The books are her business - she sells them online. Regardless if she intends to keep going or not, the books have to be somewhere while they sell - there are 40,000!

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I can relate.

 

In 1995, we offered to buy a house... our first in NY after many years of renting -- and moving frequently!

 

There was one problem after another, delay after delay. Our closing was originally scheduled for early July. I don't remember exactly how many times it was rescheduled, but it finally happened on August 18. In the meanwhile, we wondered, doubted sometimes, if the delays were some sort of "sign" that we shouldn't buy the house. The answer was always "No," so we proceeded each time.

 

Then...

 

Exactly two months after our closing, on October 18, my dh was fired from his job.

 

We had four little kids, no savings, and no opportunity for unemployment benefits.

 

"Oh no!" we thought, "We should've got out of our contract on the house when we could!"

 

But no. That wasn't true.

 

We still live here. :)

 

Dh was unemployed again a few years later. So it hasn't always been easy, financially and otherwise, but we have a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs (mostly hand-me-downs), food on our table (not always our favorite), furniture for every room (hand-me-downs there too). My older dc have gotten jobs when they were old enough to buy there own clothes and pay for their own activities, but it's been good for them.

 

If I had to do it all over again, without the benefit of hindsight, I'd do it exactly the same way. We've done the best we could with what we've had, and I'm quite sure that is true of you as well.

 

:grouphug: and prayers.

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The books are her business - she sells them online. Regardless if she intends to keep going or not, the books have to be somewhere while they sell - there are 40,000!

Thanks! I didn't know that. Then my next question would be this: Have you ever considered opening a brick and mortar store? I think you have more books than my local Books A Million and I would love to find a book store with a huge selection like that. I think I could move in! I know a local bookstore that has both - sells online and the walk in type. I would assume they have a great organization system.

 

My next thought would be could you cut off either the top shelf or the bottom shelf of your book cases? I don't know what kind you have so it may not be possible. Or if your organization completely depends on that shelf that way. That could be cheaper than moving and such. You would have to invest in more shelves though.

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(((RC)))

 

I don't have the answers to your theological questions, but you have my complete and total understanding, hugs, thoughts, everything!

 

Some days I just have to keep on keepin' on.

 

BTW, I probably would have yelled about the bookcases too - or at least sobbed in frustration!

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I know you probably don't have time for leisure reading right now, but when you can get this book: Just Do Something: How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc. Here is the synopsis:

Pastor and author Kevin DeYoung counsels Christians to settle down, make choices, and do the hard work of seeing those choices through. Too often, he writes, God's people tinker around with churches, jobs, and relationships, worrying that they haven't found God's perfect will for their lives. Or—even worse—they do absolutely nothing, stuck in a frustrated state of paralyzed indecision, waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting for clear, direct, unmistakable direction. But God doesn't need to tell us what to do at each fork in the road. He's already revealed his plan for our lives: to love him with our whole hearts, to obey His Word, and after that, to do what we like.

 

DeYoung's understanding of the will of God and God's guidance is very consistent with Friesen and Swavely and a whole host of others. He distinguishes between God's secret will (or will of decree), God's revealed will (will of desire) and God's will for our lives (will of direction). God's will of decree is his secret will, ordained from all of time--a will that is going to come to pass and that no man can thwart. God's will of desire is his will as revealed in Scripture--a will we sometimes obey and at other times disobey. God's will of direction is the one that answers those questions we have about jobs and spouses and houses and all the rest.

 

Here's the real heart of the matter, according to DeYoung. "Does God have a secret will of direction that He expects us to figure out before we do anything? And the answer is no." Though we are free to ask for his direction and though we ought to be devoted to prayer in all matters, God does not burden us with seeking his will of direction ahead of our decisions. "God does have a specific plan for our lives, but it is not one that He expects us to figure out before we make a decision." "Trusting in God's will of decree is good. Following his will of desire is obedient. Waiting for God's will of direction is a mess."

 

The solution is simple: we are to have confidence in God's hidden will, we are to search out and believe and obey God's will as expressed in the Bible, and we are then to use wisdom to make decisions that God will bless. We are to use what Dave Swavely aptly terms "sanctified reasoning." DeYoung leaves the reader to consider this: "If there really is a perfect will of God we are meant to discover, in which we will find tremendous freedom and fulfillment, why does it seem that everyone looking for God's will is in such bondage and confusion?"

 

Here, then, is how we are to live within God's will: "So go marry someone, provided you're equally yoked and you actually like being with each other. Go get a job, provided it's not wicked. Go live somewhere in something with somebody or nobody. But put aside the passivity and the quest for complete fulfillment and the perfectionism and the preoccupation with the future, and for God's sake start making some decisions in your life. Don't wait for the liver-shiver. If you are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, you will be in God's will, so just go out and do something." God's will for your life is really not as complicated as you may be making it out to be.

 

:iagree: This is what I was trying to get at about God's will but this says it so much better!

 

(And psst. I agree with DQ that I would have yelled too.)

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I know you probably don't have time for leisure reading right now, but when you can get this book: Just Do Something: How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc. Here is the synopsis:

Pastor and author Kevin DeYoung counsels Christians to settle down, make choices, and do the hard work of seeing those choices through. Too often, he writes, God's people tinker around with churches, jobs, and relationships, worrying that they haven't found God's perfect will for their lives. Or—even worse—they do absolutely nothing, stuck in a frustrated state of paralyzed indecision, waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting for clear, direct, unmistakable direction. But God doesn't need to tell us what to do at each fork in the road. He's already revealed his plan for our lives: to love him with our whole hearts, to obey His Word, and after that, to do what we like.

 

DeYoung's understanding of the will of God and God's guidance is very consistent with Friesen and Swavely and a whole host of others. He distinguishes between God's secret will (or will of decree), God's revealed will (will of desire) and God's will for our lives (will of direction). God's will of decree is his secret will, ordained from all of time--a will that is going to come to pass and that no man can thwart. God's will of desire is his will as revealed in Scripture--a will we sometimes obey and at other times disobey. God's will of direction is the one that answers those questions we have about jobs and spouses and houses and all the rest.

 

Here's the real heart of the matter, according to DeYoung. "Does God have a secret will of direction that He expects us to figure out before we do anything? And the answer is no." Though we are free to ask for his direction and though we ought to be devoted to prayer in all matters, God does not burden us with seeking his will of direction ahead of our decisions. "God does have a specific plan for our lives, but it is not one that He expects us to figure out before we make a decision." "Trusting in God's will of decree is good. Following his will of desire is obedient. Waiting for God's will of direction is a mess."

 

The solution is simple: we are to have confidence in God's hidden will, we are to search out and believe and obey God's will as expressed in the Bible, and we are then to use wisdom to make decisions that God will bless. We are to use what Dave Swavely aptly terms "sanctified reasoning." DeYoung leaves the reader to consider this: "If there really is a perfect will of God we are meant to discover, in which we will find tremendous freedom and fulfillment, why does it seem that everyone looking for God's will is in such bondage and confusion?"

 

Here, then, is how we are to live within God's will: "So go marry someone, provided you're equally yoked and you actually like being with each other. Go get a job, provided it's not wicked. Go live somewhere in something with somebody or nobody. But put aside the passivity and the quest for complete fulfillment and the perfectionism and the preoccupation with the future, and for God's sake start making some decisions in your life. Don't wait for the liver-shiver. If you are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, you will be in God's will, so just go out and do something." God's will for your life is really not as complicated as you may be making it out to be.

 

This sounds like a great book - thanks for writing all the detail about it. I'm going to have a look for it.

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Could I be doing something so wrong that I deserve to be punished? Like yelling when I found out about those low ceilings?

 

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

RC, I'm so sorry things aren't working out for you right now, and I can totally relate to the "middle of the night" worry and panic, because it happens to me all time, even over stupid little things.

 

But yelling when you found out about the low ceilings???

 

Honey, as long as there wasn't gunplay and a police mug shot involved, I think you handled it pretty well. ;)

 

(If you need bail money, just ask.)

 

Cat

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Guest janainaz

Moving is really very difficult - period. It is extremely hard on the emotions for many people and the fact that you are not moving because you WANT to - makes it all the more difficult.

 

A few years ago we moved from our apartment to a rental home. I had so many things that went wrong, so many unexpected situations (especially with money) and I was freaking out that maybe we had made the wrong choice and that we should have stayed content right where we were at. I felt that God was putting up road blocks around every corner. It is hard to discern sometimes.

 

However, my husband said that once we made the decision and had the plans in motion, we needed to not sway back-and-forth. It was too late to turn back and things did work out in the end.

 

I really believe that sometimes the mixed emotions about moving cause you to look at normal life annoyances under the microscope. My heart hurt for over a month, maybe longer when we left our apartment. All my memories were there and it took me a long time to re-adjust to a new place and new city (even if it was only 20 minutes up the freeway). Every day I woke up, I just wanted to go home and I felt like we really made a mistake.

 

What I learned was that nothing happens that God does not help us in. Even if we make the wrong choice, He is still there to guide us and help - even if it does not feel like it. Irritations happen, obstacles become exhausting, but God is still in the midst of all of that. If you have made the decision to move and it's the most logical decision, stay on course and just trust that God is there with you. If He really wants to stop you from a direction, it will happen. Otherwise just take it all in stride and know that part of your uncertainty is because of your emotions.

 

After we were in our rental house for a year, we made the decision to go back to our apartment! We had it all planned, our apartment picked out (same place) and I was at peace and excited. I felt like I was going home. We made the decision for financial reasons. At the last second we ended up buying a house, which was the farthest thing from my mind or heart at the time. I had given up on that idea a long time ago. We definitely saw God's hand helping us and miracles happened along the way (seriously). The day we were supposed to sign our house papers, my husband told me on his way to work that he was almost certain he was getting laid off that day. So, I trusted the situation in God's hands. He did not get laid off, but we did find out he was losing his bonus, thankfully we bought a house that we could afford with out it, but it put us on the edge - really on the edge.

 

All in all, we did have more obstacles, but we left it in God's hands. When you really desire for Him to keep you on the right path, you just have to pick a direction and stick with it and know that God is powerful enough to change your course. I believe our original decision to move brought us to where we are now. So much happened that it's too much to write, but you do need the peace that what you are experiencing is very normal. I was exactly like you both times we moved - scared to death of making a bad decision and wanting desperately to be right were God wanted our family. You REALLY can't go wrong with that desire! Have peace! :001_smile:

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So, imagine that God is loving us and watching us, and here comes Satan to frustrate and bully Him. He uses someone as an example to try and prove his case that another Christian has 'fallen beneath the pressure of affliction in his life and turned away from God'. And then God smiles and uses another Christian who has been victorious through their suffering and has remained full of faith and trusting in God, even when his circumstances were difficult and seemed hopeless. So Satan loses that little victory and starts looking for someone else to torment God about. So it's all really a battle between God and Satan, and we know that God will win in the end and Satan will lose.

 

Wow! It never crossed my mind that Satan uses us to torment God! Satan is a sadist, no big surprise there. Thank you for sharing this with me. I really appreciate it.

 

RC

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The solution is simple: we are to have confidence in God's hidden will, we are to search out and believe and obey God's will as expressed in the Bible, and we are then to use wisdom to make decisions that God will bless. . If you are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, you will be in God's will, so just go out and do something." God's will for your life is really not as complicated as you may be making it out to be. [/i]

 

Or, to summarize, "Just do your best, pray that it's blest, and He'll take care of the rest." --Keith Green

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I believe God can do whatever he wants, and we often only see the back

side of the tapestry he's weaving--but that he can use whatever is difficult in our lives to our good. Sometimes he sends the difficulty, and sometimes he allows the difficulty, but he has promised never to leave us while we walk thru it.

 

I can't quote the whole story, and I don't know the source, but I've heard the "silversmith" analogy--

A person was visiting the silversmith, watching him refine the silver in the fire. "How do you know when to take it out of the fire?" he asked.

"When I can see my face in it," was the reply.

 

I also heard a supposedly true story that told me more about the nature of Satan and God's "relationship"--

 

There was an emotionally ill man several years ago who pursued a woman, but was turned down. Thru much persistence, he finally got her to marry him. They had two children. One day, he killed those children, just to get back at her for spurning him in the past.

Satan cares not a whit for us (tho many Satanists think he does), but tries to separate us from God and hurts us because he knows how that will hurt God.

 

 

I don't know whether Satan's attacking you or God's refining you, or something else. I do know He loves you. No one was promised an easy life, even if we do "everything right." Being blessed and having a smooth road don't necessarily go together. I try to remember that this life is precious and important, but it is also training ground for eternity.

 

I do hope things go easier for you, but I am glad you get the opportunity for a faith-building experience. Prayin' for ya!:grouphug:

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I LOVE THAT!

 

Dawn

 

I know you probably don't have time for leisure reading right now, but when you can get this book: Just Do Something: How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc. Here is the synopsis:

Pastor and author Kevin DeYoung counsels Christians to settle down, make choices, and do the hard work of seeing those choices through. Too often, he writes, God's people tinker around with churches, jobs, and relationships, worrying that they haven't found God's perfect will for their lives. Or—even worse—they do absolutely nothing, stuck in a frustrated state of paralyzed indecision, waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting for clear, direct, unmistakable direction. But God doesn't need to tell us what to do at each fork in the road. He's already revealed his plan for our lives: to love him with our whole hearts, to obey His Word, and after that, to do what we like.

 

DeYoung's understanding of the will of God and God's guidance is very consistent with Friesen and Swavely and a whole host of others. He distinguishes between God's secret will (or will of decree), God's revealed will (will of desire) and God's will for our lives (will of direction). God's will of decree is his secret will, ordained from all of time--a will that is going to come to pass and that no man can thwart. God's will of desire is his will as revealed in Scripture--a will we sometimes obey and at other times disobey. God's will of direction is the one that answers those questions we have about jobs and spouses and houses and all the rest.

 

Here's the real heart of the matter, according to DeYoung. "Does God have a secret will of direction that He expects us to figure out before we do anything? And the answer is no." Though we are free to ask for his direction and though we ought to be devoted to prayer in all matters, God does not burden us with seeking his will of direction ahead of our decisions. "God does have a specific plan for our lives, but it is not one that He expects us to figure out before we make a decision." "Trusting in God's will of decree is good. Following his will of desire is obedient. Waiting for God's will of direction is a mess."

 

The solution is simple: we are to have confidence in God's hidden will, we are to search out and believe and obey God's will as expressed in the Bible, and we are then to use wisdom to make decisions that God will bless. We are to use what Dave Swavely aptly terms "sanctified reasoning." DeYoung leaves the reader to consider this: "If there really is a perfect will of God we are meant to discover, in which we will find tremendous freedom and fulfillment, why does it seem that everyone looking for God's will is in such bondage and confusion?"

 

Here, then, is how we are to live within God's will: "So go marry someone, provided you're equally yoked and you actually like being with each other. Go get a job, provided it's not wicked. Go live somewhere in something with somebody or nobody. But put aside the passivity and the quest for complete fulfillment and the perfectionism and the preoccupation with the future, and for God's sake start making some decisions in your life. Don't wait for the liver-shiver. If you are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, you will be in God's will, so just go out and do something." God's will for your life is really not as complicated as you may be making it out to be.

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I have a hard time with the whole "because there are problems this must be because either God is closing a door or because Satan is trying to stop it" thing. I grew up with that and honestly, I see it used for all sorts of things that really make me want to say: "You are HUMAN! It isn't always easy to be human! Things happen because humans are involved!" :lol:

 

I like the reference Heather quoted and would love to see that book.

 

Dawn

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Can you but the bottoms off the bookcases? I've had to do that with various pieces of furniture through the years.

 

Yes. $10/hr for the worker. 186 bookcases. They have to be cut down, and then the horizontal wood replaced because it makes the bookcase sturdy. It will take a long time.

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