Shrubbery AblazeSample

Take the risk to investigate

It is true that we may be the arsonist of our own desires, but on the flip side, we can also become the firefighters of His. Because the vast majority of us are afraid of really hearing from the Lord, we scurry around trying to put out the flames He is kindling instead of fanning them.

What if His burning bush is a check larger than I planned to write, a place I am afraid to go or a move that’s not a part of my 5- or 10-year plan? What if it hurts? What if mission and ministry aren’t just for someone else? So we try to extinguish the bush God has lit.

Now would be a good time to settle this in your heart: Whatever you have planned isn’t likely to happen anyway, and life sometimes does hurt—but God’s will is always preferable to any design of our own we could concoct.

He is not asking us to either set bushes on fire or smother them. He’s asking us to draw closer and be inquisitive and open to the possibility that He is behind the fire.

It’s curious to me that the bush never burned up. You know, your ideas and plans and mine will burn up and die out at some point, but God’s do not. They never will. I assume that you have a laundry list of ideas and dreams for yourself or your family that are wonderful. The proof of the power behind them is their ability to last. Your strength isn’t enough. We can work hard, but we can’t keep bushes burning.

Trust that God’s power always accompanies His will and put the lighter fluid down. The freedom of faith will allow you to follow that job lead and keep interviewing until the fire dies out. If it doesn’t, that may be the job for you. Accept that invitation to a date and see where it goes. If it dies out, fine. If it doesn’t, keep following in faith. (And by the way, singles, the only thing you need to decide on date number one is whether or not there will be a date number two!) If the fire continues to burn, it just might lead to a marriage made in heaven. Your assignment and mine is not to predict the outcome, but to simply draw close and observe. Take the risk to investigate.

You can get Gregg Matte’s book by clicking on Finding God's Will.