Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Up Pops the Devil




Today as I packed for the Faith and Fiction Retreat, I listened to an interview author, Angela Benson (http://www.angelabenson.com/) had about her new book "Up Pops the Devil". I'll be featuring Angela real soon, so she can share her very interesting publishing journey and great premise for the book. Her interview spurred a deep reflection about some recent events that could have stopped me from traveling to this coveted event for Christian readers and authors.

Life is full of twist and turns, good things and bad things and we all know the best laid plans can be interrupted as quickly as a flash of lightening. When life gets interrupted I spend time with God and ask him what's going on? I wonder did I hear God correctly when he said go left or was I supposed to go right? Was I disobedient or hasty about a decision, or am I living through a JOB moment in life when you know, up pops the devil.

I'm a person who has learned to find the root cause of situtations in my life and work. Self-examination and personal accountability go hand in hand in my daily walk with Jesus. When one's "locus of control" rest with external sources accountability is low and the devil we blame will pop up more than we'd like. Since I'm not interested in trial and error I journey inward, searching my heart for the reason for the trouble. When asking God why I'm enduring a particular thing sometimes he answers clearly, other times it comes to me in the still of the night and alot of times I just don't get an answer. What I have found and grown to completely understand is that surrendering it all to HIM has made it easy to accept the gravest of situations. I find peace no matter the situation and peace is what he promised us.

The retreat seemed almost out of my grasp for several months due to finanical issues, but I remember clearly God told me I could go, so even when a $1,400 auto repair popped into my world a little over a week ago, I stood firm on the promise God made that I would make the trip this year. The devil popped up, but because of faith and grace and mercy, this girl is still packing.

What experiences have you had lately with an interruption of life's plans that faith bought you through?

No comments: