God will bring about His will when those who trust in Him have their heart pure toward the Lord.
He will expose faults and failures.
Once a person has put their trust in Jesus and has given Him their all, He doesn’t cast them aside.
Jesus was offered on a cross as the ultimate sacrifice to bring together God and man.

From the Old Testament to the New, God has not changed.
He is still looking at hearts. He is still performing His will.
We still receive His mercy and grace when it is not deserved, simply for seeking God and trusting in Him.
That also means by His love, we will be corrected when need be.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Revelation 3:19
The Holy Spirit will teach us and lead us and guide us to equip us so we can run this race.
We receive God’s love via correction as a father who cares for His children.

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous:
nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Hebrews 12:11

Take your lumps when needed and consider it a form of love, which it is. God expects much of us.
Let Him mold you into the vessel He has created you to be. That is, let Him love you with His impossible love.

I knew this also meant deliveries will be rare and will not be like they are today. It will be dangerous. Truck drivers will be stopped and robbed, maybe killed. People will be robbed buying groceries. There are very tough times coming. Nestle into the wings of the Lord God Most High.

He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust:
His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Psalm 91:4

I have been warned several times that we are entering a famine. I’m not the only one who knows this, I am not the only one whom the Lord has told this warning to. Pray for wisdom for you and your family. Pray that you know how the Lord wants you to prepare for the times that are coming.

But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matthew 24:37

There have been many famines in times past. God gave some wisdom and they heeded His advice.

Joseph was put in a position to save the same line of persons that carried Jesus’ DNA.
Watch and pray. Listen to the Holy Spirit and do not lean on your own understanding.

There is a hidden meaning behind buying the truth.
Of course we cannot really buy the truth with money. We can purchase it with non-monetary things.
What might those things be?

The cost of truth comes at a heavy price. All those who have preached the truth and those who believe the truth and follow the truth have given part of their selves to obtain it and to defend it.

That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love,
and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding,
to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:2-3

The treasures of Jesus come with a price.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found,
he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 
Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Matthew 13:44-46

If you do not find the things of God of Great Treasure, they will not be so to you.
You will miss the true meaning of your existence and you will be forever without God as your choice.

The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:33

Gideon’s fleece
And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, 
Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only,
and it be dry upon all the earth beside,
then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. 
And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together,
and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. 
And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once:
let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece;
let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. 
And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground. Judges 6:36-40

Hezekiah’s fleece
In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death, and prayed unto the Lord:
and He spake unto him, and He gave him a sign. 2 Kings 20:1-7, Isaiah told Hezekiah he was going to die.
Hezekiah wept and pleaded with the Lord and the prophet Isaiah said
you will be given fifteen more years and God will heal you and deliver you from the King of Assyria.
Hezekiah wanted a sign and he was then given one from God above.
And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me,
and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day? 
And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that He hath spoken:
shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? 
And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees:
nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. 
And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward,
by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz. 2 Kings 20:8-11

Elijah even needed confirmation. Jezebel was trying to kill him.
God gave him specific instructions:
And He said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.
And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains,
and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind:
and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: 
And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
1 Kings 19:11-12. 1 Kings 19 is full of confirmations God gave to Elijah.
It is very apparent that Elijah was close to the Lord, following Him in all obedience.

There is not one story in the Bible that is in there for naught.
All of them are valuable and as examples of what the Lord has done for others in times past
that we may learn and our faith may grow in the Lord Jesus and recognize His infinite power and wisdom.

David had to wait years to be crowned after he was anointed.
He was faithful to wait and received signs from God along the way and was reminded of God’s will.
He also refused to force the issue by sparing Saul’s life multiple times
and telling all of his men not to lay a hand on Saul as David said many times: He is anointed of God.

When Jonah was on the boat, the men, who served other gods cast lots.
They knew there was an ultimate higher power who ran things.
When the lots fell on Jonah, they heard about his God and were more afraid. in the end,
they worshiped the One, True God of Heaven and Earth.
Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.
Jonah 1:16

When we are unsure of God’s voice, the best thing we can do is keep seeking Him until God has made things clear.
He is gracious. If strong prophets of old needed confirmations of God’s voice, we also, at times, may need confirmations.
God will be faithful to make His way clear.

It can be painstaking at times when you do what you think is best
and then you realize you have been doing what you thought was best instead of what God is asking of you. We do pray in The Lord’s Prayer: Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven.
Try as we may, things don’t always go as we plan.

There are major decisions that we have to make. We have to be good stewards of our time and finances
and share the gospel and be kind and do as much good as we are able.
We must try our best to do what Jesus wants us to do.
Even when we do all that, we can be disappointed or shaken when things don’t go as we plan.

It’s called yielding. Yielding to the Holy Spirit. It’s called relinquishing our will.

Sometimes we are given pause.
We are even stopped in our tracks and forced to go to our knees to find His will in any given situation.
We might not even understand how or why things didn’t work out as we expected when we were doing all we know how to do and trying to listen to the Lord and hear His direction.

When things don’t go as we plan, we are to do just that. Put all aside and find the Lord in the mix.
He will show us.

I’m changing jobs. The current job has good pay and great benefits in all aspects.
The new one is not quite as good with pay and benefits.
I had to relinquish my plans. I thought I would be there for many years.
However, that is not the case. It is not.
Things are not working out as I planned.
I gave up all my ambitions and yielded.
God was patient. He made things clear to me, but it wasn’t immediate.

Some time ago, I asked Jesus if He would please let me practice obedience,
even with small things so that I could get finely tuned, in sync with His Holy Spirit.
He has been doing that. It’s not always easy to know for sure God’s direction.
He has a way of making things clear and that is what I need sometimes.

The message I’d like to convey is that Jesus sometimes will interfere with our plans.

A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps. Proverbs 16:9

I do not want to be out of God’s will, even for a second.

Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year,
and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 
For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. James 4:13-15

If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? Genesis 4:6

Cain gave God what he wanted to instead of what God asked of him.
It’s easy to do that. We must be careful because even if what we give is a sacrifice for us,
God requires what He requires and He wants obedience rather than sacrifice.

Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Matthew 7:21

We serve God on His terms, not ours. He requires much of us.
A half-baked life toward God is not going to cut it.
We must love Him and love His word of truth. We must follow Him whole-heartedly.

And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Luke 6:46

Acts was the book where the disciples had just been shocked into reality. Jesus told them all the things that they needed to know, He was crucified and rose again. Now, they were to take what Jesus taught them, what He demonstrated to them while He walked amongst them and the people. He performed many miracles and they knew He was the Messiah.

They were not rich. Their riches were not of this world. They knew their purpose. They knew what Jesus wanted them to do. Their lives were in danger as their leader, Jesus the Christ had just been killed by people who rose against Him. Who could they trust that was still on Earth? They continued on to spread the gospel. They did not retire and rest on their laurels. They knew they had work to do, to bring other people to Jesus.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Luke 12:34

Jesus talked about treasure in Heaven and rewards and mansions and how much more important they are than the things we see and experience on Earth. He knew what He was talking about. If you know Jesus, you are richer than most. No silver and gold, you are in good company.

Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor,
and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me. Matthew 19:21 Jesus tried to help that man see the true riches. He walked away sad. We do not know how the rest of his life went, if he ever was able to part with his riches. It does give us pause. Are we any different than that man? Do we cling to the Earthly things that we love so that we cannot serve Christ fully? Jesus asks much of us and He knows where our idols are, those things we adore and place above Him or in competition with Jesus.

Take up your cross and follow Him and don’t ever look back.

We should not even lord our own thoughts over our own lives. That’s God’s job.
That is hard to relinquish your thoughts to Jesus, to let our lofty thoughts be submissive to God
and let Him correct the lofty thoughts and show us the error of our ways.

How to get those wild, runaway thoughts under control. It is not something we can do on our own.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Jesus’ word discerns our thoughts.
He knows what we are thinking, our intentions and whether or not sin is in the mix.
God has a way of letting us see our true intentions. Sometimes they are ugly.
Sometimes they are without any goodness toward someone else
or they are simply filled with flesh and self.

Thoughts can become actions, so it is very important to keep a reign on our thoughts.
Jesus will help us if we ask Him.
The more we spend time in His word, the better we will be able to let Him correct those fleshly thoughts.
It’s what we are called to do, to be like Jesus, which is next to impossible.
We serve the God of the impossible. He will help us.

Remain humble. Be open to correction.
Some of us have had a rough life or we have had to be responsible for others and ourselves.
We are not used to giving power and control to someone else, even God.
It is an act of humility, each time we kneel before our Maker and give up our way and accept His way.

Carrying our cross is no easy task.
Neither is allowing Jesus to help us let Him be completely in charge of our lives.
He won’t push. If you want to remain in control, you will be able to.
You have to make up your mind on whom you will serve Yourself or The God of all creation.

Try your hardest to allow Jesus to be the Lord of your life.
It will take time and patience with yourself and with God.

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Philippians 1:6

Jesus won’t ask more of you than you can give, but He also won’t ask less of you than you can give.
Practice and listen. Let Him have His way.
You’ll be glad when you do put your mind in the hands of Christ.

I am there, at the fork in the road.
I heard, “It is time.” twice. Meaning time to leave my present job.
There is another job I can take with fewer responsibilities and much less stress and also less money.
But still, I want to make sure it is God. I want to make sure it is really Him.
How can I know?
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: John 10:27
I don’t feel like fasting, but I think that might be the best idea at this point.
I have asked for wisdom and prayed and read His word.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not;
and it shall be given him. James 1:5

Since I’ve asked for wisdom, maybe I have already been given wisdom?

I help a lot of people at my present job.
I am oppressed and stressed there.
I have done my best to work under difficult authority respectfully.

Sometimes, we walk forward and see if the door opens up for us.
I’m almost positive this door is open, so I must make the choice.

And the key of the house of David will I lay upon His shoulder;
so He shall open, and none shall shut; and He shall shut, and none shall open. Isaiah 22:22

I could cast lots. That’s what they used to do. Flip a coin. Or create a fleece like Gideon.
The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:33
I’m going to see how it goes and maybe walk and see if the doors truly do open.

I’m going to walk slowly and trust that God is giving me the wisdom I asked for
and that He will make His voice clear to me as this is a complex decision.
I’ll let you know how it goes.

I have seen people who don’t battle much.
Does that mean they are pretty nearly perfect?
They are just always content?
I don’t really know what it means, but it is surely not me.
My life is not like that.
I have very strong feelings about everything.
I am black or white, hot or cold and tough decisions while carrying my cross.

That goes along with my job of being a plumbline. I cannot stand things crooked.
I need the Lord every hour to help me sort things through,
to be able to put away my thoughts that war against His.
Sometimes we want someone to understand, but that cannot always be.
Of course Jesus understands. It’s also nice to have a human who almost understands you as well.
My friend that understood me has died.
At least she was in my life for many years.

The Lord Jesus opens doors and closes doors.
When I toil and am ensnared, He comes through for me.

David was hated by his own wife for dancing before the Lord.
David would have understood.
David was not without fault. He would have understood that about me as well.
So, if we cannot find a human who is alive who understands us,
we can always find a person in the word of God whose thoughts have been forever scribed in God’s word
that will never disintegrate but will help to carry us through.
Sometimes I feel like Jonah, a sort of failure of the Lord who was selfish.
Jonah wanted to just go about his day without so many cares and responsibilities that God gave him.
Or I feel like the guy, Balaam, whose donkey had to talk to him because he wasn’t listening.
Or I feel like Esther who had an important word and whose life was important just for that moment.
Sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s not.
Learning, growing, never completely making it.
Falling, getting up, running again to get to the finish line.

Jesus said we need to take up our cross daily.
And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Luke 9:23
At least we get to rest while we sleep.
It’s heavy and cumbersome. There is no way to leave it behind. it’s a part of us.
We would be empty and useless without it.