~Be faithful, not fretful~

Photo credit: Photostock 

My heart is prone to fret some days. I see so many directions in life that I could go in. So many areas I could pursue. So many dreams. I keenly feel the need for the Lord's guidance, and I wonder, (it's fretting, really), what if I don't do the right thing? What if I were to come to the end of my life and realize that I didn't spend my time on the right things? A pitiful plight indeed!

But Christ died to save me from this plight. To wash away this sin of fretting and anxiety. How can I travel down this road any longer? Thankfully the Lord rescues me with His truth! The other morning as I read in the book of Mark, the Lord highlighted something in His word that warmed my soul so much!! Here it is:

"And as He (Jesus) walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him." -Mark 1:16-20

See it? Simon, Andrew, James and John were all doing what was at hand. They were faithful to their work. And? When it was time for them to change their course of action, God called them. God called them from their duties as fishers of fish, to be fishers of men! They didn't need to worry or wonder.

Which reminded me of another passage in the Bible:

"He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. 
So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands." ~Psalm 78:70-72

Oh the peace that sweeps over me when I see, that when it is time, God will call me from where I'm serving Him at the moment to something else that He has scripted in my story since before time began. Cast my care on Him, oh my soul! Pray, and roll these cares on Him! He will direct. He will call.

And, oh, the sheer bliss of knowing that I'm not in control! I can rest while I work, as I trust His sovereign guiding hand! Fretting is ridiculous at the least. At the most it's dishonoring to an all powerful God.

Let's trust the Lord's heart as we give our desires and longings to Him! This time of life may just be the training ground for something greater down the road. As in the verses from Psalm (above), God was training David in the skillfulness of shepherding sheep to someday shepherd His people, so he is using us right in this moment to specifically train us for something He has planned for us in the future.

Never despise the day of small beginnings {Zachariah 4:10}. May our hearts be faithful and trusting, not fretful and troubled.