Let the Lord take the Reigns.

Alright.  How many of us struggle with wanting to control everything in our lives?  I know I do.  I like to think that I know what is best and what I should be doing.  It is hard for me to recognize that I need to let the Lord guide my path.  Luckily, I'm no alone. The apostle Paul had good desires and wanted to go teach the people of Asia of the gospel, but the Holy Ghost forbade him.  After that, Paul and his companions were going to go to Bithynia, but "the Spirit suffered them not." (Acts 16:7)  Paul had good intentions and he thought that he knew where he should go.


One thing I really like about this story is that Paul didn't just give up when the Lord kept stopping
him in his tracks, he continued to move forward with faith.  I need to do that in my life.  I need to keep pushing on and trusting the Lord even when what I think would be good for my life doesn't pan out.  Finally in Acts 16:9 the Lord shows Paul a vision which instructs him to go to Macedonia.

Me, looking forward to a bright future!

Would Paul have gotten the instruction to go to Macedonia if he had stopped acting?  No!  God likes answering prayers for people who are acting.  When we act, it allows God to guide us. This is something that the Lord is trying to teach me especially in my life right now.  I have made many different plans for my life.  I'm going to finish college in three years, now I'm going to go on a mission.  I guess I'm not going to go on a mission, I'm going to keep going to school and be the relief society president.  Now I'm going to date this guy and possibly marry him.  Oops!  Looks like he is not right for me.  Guess I'll go back to square one and focus on school. Right as soon as I thought I had an idea of where I should be going in my life, God would say "I don't think that's what you need to be working on right now..."  The nice thing, is that even though I keep being stopped in a lot of the things I've been doing, I know that God is leading me.  He has a plan for my life and as long as I keep acting and following Him, I will get where I need to be.  I know that I'm becoming who God wants me to be and that I'm learning to have joy in the process.