Ignore Your Circumstances

Are you where you expected to be? Did you have dreams for your life, but just never did anything about it? Did the Lord ask you to do something some time ago, but you didn't do it for multiple excuses? Have you ever looked back on your life and wished you would have done the one thing you were passionate about, but instead ended up doing what society demanded? Did you ever think you would have done things differently if your circumstances were better?"

MAN, Satan is sneaky! He SO does not want you to walk in who you are in Christ, nor does he want you fulfilling your destiny. Satan gets you to focus on your circumstances so you'll take your eyes off of Jesus. When the Lord tells you to do something outside the social norm, Satan tricks you into thinking things like, "How will my family eat?", "How will we pay the bills?" and "But we have another child on the way!". If you've been ignoring the Lord because these statements are consuming your thought life, then Satan has you right where he wants you!  The more you look at your circumstances, the more you trust in YOUR ability to take care of things, and the LESS you put your trust in the LORD to provide for you; the closer you are to NEVER reaching your destiny.

There are stories all over the bible of men who were called to be kings and leaders; Moses, David and Job. Look at the circumstances they were in before it happened. Who knows what would have happened, had they made decisions based on what they saw with their natural eyes. They may have been tempted to no longer believe, but they KNEW the truth, so they completely ignored their circumstances. Of course it's easier to believe because these men are in the Bible. Why then, is it so hard to believe it's happening today? You yourself could likely be a leader, but fear has taken over and caused you to ignore what the Lord is saying or has been saying for years. 

JOSEPH
One of my favorite examples: God gave him a dream; that he would be King, and his father and brother would bow down to him. His own family thought he was crazy and tried to have him killed! Then they had him thrown in prison and even after he told his other inmates to tell the king to get him out, he was still left there for two years! Imagine Joseph, sitting in his prison cell thinking, "King? I'm in a freaking prison cell, how in the world is THAT going to happen!? No one even takes me seriously, my own family thought I was crazy!" Don't you think God already knew what was going to happen? Of course he did; his time in prison was his "wilderness", where God trained him to step into his calling and Joseph always knew the truth about who he was!

Is it possible to "miss your mark?" Yes, if you don't trust the Lord in every area. One of the biggest problems today is that too many people judge whether or not someone (including themselves) is in God's will, based on their circumstances. If circumstances "appear" bad, then they think they must not be doing what God wants. Again, the enemy wants you to focus on your circumstances so that you'll take your focus off of Jesus! There could be someone in your life right now, maybe even yourself, who seems to have it all together; the house, the car, the full-time job, the resources to get your degree etc., yet still NOT doing God's will or even trusting him in every area. The Lord has already told some of you to quit your job, but you didn't, out of fear. The Lord told some of you to sell your home or your business, but you didn't out of fear. The Lord has already told some of you, even years ago perhaps, to stop going to school, move to a different city, go on a mission trip, give money to someone you know or donate your car; but you didn't do it. 

When you are trusting the Lord, your outward circumstances are just flat out irrelevant and they are NOT the gauge for whether or not you're in God's will for your life. Now, if you ARE fully surrendered and doing what God wants, that is where your blessings are! Even IF your circumstances still "appear" bleak, the blessings continue to flow because God doesn't encourage rebellion.

Resources

God Isn't in Complete Control