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Monday, August 18, 2008

IOW Tuesdays - Trust Him to order your steps


In Other Words Tuesdays
Today's Quote Is:


Order my steps, in Your word
Order my tongue, in Your word
Guide my feet, in Your word
Wash my heart, in Your word
Show me how to walk, in Your word
Show me how to talk, in Your word.

(refrain)I want to walk worthy, my calling to fulfill
Please order my steps, Lord, and I’ll do Your blessed will
The world is ever changing, but You are still the same
If You order my steps, I’ll praise Your name.

~A hymn by Glen Burleigh~

***

If God ordered your steps right into a lion's den would you still be willing to follow Him?

Into a lion's den? Whoa - wait a minute God, I've been a good person, I've followed you all my life - I don't deserve to have to go through the pain and suffering of a lion's den. I mean, come on, God. Those lions have sharp teeth and it would hurt if they bit me.

Sure it sounds a little humorous, but the truth is, those who become His greatest servants are those who walked through the fire with Him by their side first. Christians do go through hurricanes and tornadoes and lose everything they own. Their houses burn down and their loved ones pass away through tragic circumstances. Bad things happen to good people.

What makes the difference is the way we handle those circumstances. I've been in some painful situations and my first reaction isn't usually pretty. I get angry with God and rant like a frantic child, beating on His breast because of the pain and unfairness of the situation. Like Jonah, I've tried to run from the uncomfortable places He wanted me to go. But after I cry out the grief and hurt, after I let go of my own desire to escape pain, I reach a place of emptiness.

In that place, He can come by His Spirit and comfort or help me see what He is trying to say to me. I can sense His presence and I get a glimpse of the bigger picture of life. It's not all about me. There are those around me who will be directly influenced by the pain and suffering I experience, both while I am going through it and after the healing has come. It's about trusting Him to order my steps.

One of my favorite scenes is from the book, Hinds Feet in High Places by Hannah Hurnard. The main character Much Afraid is on her journey to the High Places where she will receive Hinds feet to replace her crippled deformed feet. She has come through loneliness, isolation and disappointment - each time she thinks she is about to start upward into the high places, her path has turned in the opposite direction.
At long last she comes to the foothills of the high places, only to find herself at a dead end. Her heart aches with disappointment as she cries out to the Shepherd. After He allows her to express her anger and bitter disappointment over yet another dead end, He points out a small path that zig-zags up the face of the cliff before her. A path it seems only the deer can navigate.
Poor Much Afraid becomes faint just thinking about it and is ready to turn around and flee home. But the Shepherd ropes her securely to her traveling companions and helps her onto the path. Once she begins her ascent, she realizes it isn't really as treacherous as it appeared from the ground. She had to learn to trust Him to order her steps.

I want to walk worthy, my calling to fulfill
Please order my steps, Lord, and I’ll do Your blessed will
The world is ever changing, but You are still the same
If You order my steps, I’ll praise Your name.


***

In Other Words is being hosted today by Lori at her site All You Have To Give

If you'd like to participate, simply blog about the quote on your site, then visit Lori and leave your blog URL in the Mr. Linky box. Be sure to check our Lori's take on the quote and leave her a comment. If you have time, check out what some of the others have to say too. There's lots of inspirational reading here!


9 comments:

Miriam Pauline said...

Bless you Bonnie! This is a beautiful post. And you use one of my favorite books to illustrate it. Perfect!

Karen said...

Boy that is something to think about, "if God ordered your steps into a lion's den would you go." His steps lead us to where we ought to be, it may not be the most pleasant of places but you can trust God that its where we should be in order to mould and make us properly and thoroughly. Thanks for sharing.

Susan said...

Hey Bonnie,

This was just INCREDIBLE!!!! Oh would we truly follow HIM? Do we really?? There are many times I read scriptures that are "just too hard"...

Praise God He is so faithful to walk us through all those times.

I love what you shared about Hinds Feet on High Places, that book literally transformed my life many years ago.

Just being reminded of it today, makes me want to go and read it again!!

Blessings my friend♥

Chocolate and Coffee said...

Awesome post Bonnie. Certainly makes you think about your true committment to the Lord.

Blessings to you!

Denise said...

Wow, this was so wonderful, bless you.

Unknown said...

Great Post, Bonnie! God has not called me or ordered my steps into the Lion's Den just yet, but He has walked me through a hornet's nest or two.

Blessings.

lori said...

Bonnie....
WOW! Your words today just hit me hard....I have been incredibly blessed by the words you've written...

Asking God to Order our steps isn't always going to be easy...We were JUST this week talking about Jonah and his reaction to God, with the kids this week in our Bible Study on gratefulness....

You ALWAYS bless this group with your thoughts! You've certainly done it again today!!
peace,
lori

Laurie Ann said...

Awesome post! You really gave great encouragement and inspiration there, Bonnie. God bless you!

Unknown said...

I love the analogy of God asking us to walk into a den of lions! You're right - it's easy (or at least easier) to follow God when He's leading us thru the good times, but more meaningful and blessed when we follow Him through the tough patches.

Nice post!

Ava Semerau
And God Was Pleased

"And long after the history of all the big things that make the front pages are forgotten, what God has done through you and a few people will be history.” - Dr. Richard C. Halverson