A couple of days ago, I got this question of faith from a stranger.

So, I had been dating this guy for two years, until we both felt God was telling us to be apart for a while. It was mainly him that God was telling but I understood too. So now, we are talking again and I'm wondering if it's in God's will.

I am a person with a lot of self doubt and when i'm with him it feels right and where i'm supposed to be, but how do I know that's God or just MY desires. This boy is a Christian, but is only 18 so he isn't as deep as I would like my husband to be. Should I just be patient with him and see how God shapes him when he goes to college? He has so much potential!!

Also, I've never really dated anyone else. I don't really have a desire to though. Even when we weren't together, I didn't want to date anyone else. But when Christian guys pursue me or start talking to me, I start comparing them to the guy I'm sort of dating. Is that bad? I don't have feelings for them at all...I think it's just the fact that they are older and more mature.

Is waiting a bad idea? He already has God in him and I can see him changing a lot when he goes to college because that is when I changed the most in my spiritual life. I love him a lot but I want to make sure that everything is in God's will, not my own.

It took a while, but I felt the Lord gave me something to say in reply. This is what came out:

Hello, there. Thank you for your sincere question of faith.

I think what you are asking is a common question. In fact, a friend of mine says he constantly hears this type of question when in America, but as a speaker spending most of his time out of the states, he NEVER hears it anywhere else. Usually, it comes from married folk wondering if their spouse was God's will for them. But there are other similar questions ... such as "Is this God's will for my job?" .. "place to live?" etc.

I said that he never hears anything of the sorts in other countries. Instead, he hears things like, "How can I get this marriage on track?" and "How can I renew my interest in work?" The difference is worth looking at, but I can only guess what the reasons are for the culture difference in America.

Since I am an American, too ... I don't mind sharing my experience with similar doubts, see if there is some similarity with what you are going through. I think we tend to think of life like one of those line mazes with 100 dead-ends and 1 correct exit. As we go along we are asked to go left or right, and we imagine that had we gone one way and not the other, that we end up either at a dead-end or at a point closer to the correct exit point. We are convinced that making the correct decision means a freedom from regret ... at least until we make a wrong decision, right? But, like those puzzles it is nearly impossible to make it to the end without making a few wrong choices, so we are always doubting and questioning whether our latest decision was the right one or whether we should go back and undo it.

As I write all of that out, it seems kindof silly and depressing, doesn't it? Is life really navigated like a puzzle-maze? I sure hope there is more to it than that.

Heb 11:8
By faith Abraham, when he was called, ... he went out, not knowing where he was going.

What if faith runs contrary to all this managing decisions and knowing what we are getting into before we get into it? Abraham went by faith without knowing where he was going! Maybe we just aren't meant to know so that we can exercise faith in the absence of knowing.

The moment that we know God's will for our lives, sister, ... guess what? We are unbelievers, no longer walking by faith.

I've learned to escape the constant second-guessing and regretful worry about decisions. How? By adopting a new attitude: "Thy will be done."

So, I don't want to have plans for anyone, and how to wind up at the exit of the maze. I am not particularly concerned about all of that, because I don't know. I don't need a plan, because my plan is to welcome God's will. So going left or going right is not the question for me. My question is to abide or to not abide, and what difference does it make if while abiding I go right or I go left? The point is that I am abiding, so it will go great if I go either way. How can I take a bad step when my steps are wrought in God? How can I think that you can take a bad step if your steps are wrought in God? So I don't want you to follow my steps nor anyone else's! I want you to abide in Him and let Him direct your path. You'll wind up somewhere scratching your head, and muttering, "I don't know how I got here, but it must be God." ... is that much different than the place you currently are right now, or did you plan it and bring it about in years gone by?

Some will say that a life like that won't work, but my answer is "Fine! Alright, but don't drag me into your unbelief." Maybe that is true for you, and the God that you have wouldn't let that work, but I don't want that kind of God.

With plans and goals come all kinds of manipulation, because we have to see that our plan is brought about. But, without a plan, I am free from an unbelieving mindset. As I remain restfully available, I don't need to fix the world around me, and fix the problems that come against me. Rather I can let problems fix me, and the problems drive me into God's presence.

It is a matter of what our goal really is, sister. Is our goal to succeed by the world's standard? Or is our goal the expression of the life of God manifest by the Spirit through us? If it is the first goal, than we have to know everything. If it is the second goal, then we get to be free and know nothing and just listen as we walk ... because our eyes are not on whether to go right our left, but our eyes are on the Lord.

Lets maximize our faith ... we have His promise that we are going to end well ... He is the Author and the Finisher of our faith ... so we can release our cares and just depend on our Shepherd.

This may seem out of reach and not really pertinent to what you were asking, but I am trying to see if you are ready to shift up a gear. You know what that is like in a car, to shift up a gear ... it is when your engine does less work, but the car is going faster. The gear is called faith, and it is demonstrated by Abraham ... it involves going and knowing not ... and it is shear delight for all those that shift into that gear. I pray you take this as encouragement.

Ripening for the harvest,

Trent

QUOTE #2:

Blessed are they who did watch for My coming, and did not wait. Blessed are their eyes, though they did not see...behold, they have understood. Blessed are their feet also, for they have walked along the Highway called Holy, and did not tarry ... they did run after their Lord, and do follow Him wherever He leads them. These have walked, even by their own feet, from judgment into life, and I have provided the Way.

about 14 months ago I got this question in my inbox:

What are "good works"? I am sure that I have read it somewhere but can't find it again.

I answered by the wisdom that is given me. Here are the words:

Acts 2:22"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know."

God did the good works through Jesus. *THROUGH* Him.
God was in Him, and one with Him, and though Jesus did everything, He really did nothing.
He lived as a servant, transparent vessel of the Father's will to show us what good works really are ... they are Divine works caused by God, worked through us as though it is us, but it is NOT us ... He does it all!

John 8:28
So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that *I do nothing on my own* but speak just what the Father has taught me. ..."

He claims to do nothing over a dozen times in the Gospel of John alone. ... and as that first verse above says, it was known that God did everything though Him. All that Jesus ever did, is all that Jesus never did. And that principle applies to us:

John 15:5
"I am the Vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; *apart from me you can do nothing*."

As we walk in the manner in which Jesus walks, we will do good works that are wrought in Him. But we are NOT doing it. And yet we ARE doing it. We are, but we aren't. We aren't, but we are.

John 3:21
"But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that *his deeds* may be manifested as having *been wrought in God*."

When we are involved in good work there is NO reasonable explanation for our activity EXCEPT to say that it isn't us at all, ... it MUST be God doing it.

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and *I no longer live, but Christ lives in me*. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

You will know when you are doing good works, because you are not doing anything. It is a miracle, and gift! It is the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Oh, YES!!!

The Warning:

3/28/07 - From God the Father, For All Those Who Have Ears to Hear.
To the Nation, Once Called of Itself “Under God” (USA).

Thus has the Lord God spoken:

"Desolations are coming...great want! How, then, shall these silver coins and paper, houses made of brick and wood, save you? The riches of men shall be taken from them in a day."

11/28/07 - From God the Father, For All Those Who Have Ears to Hear.
Recompense.

"The Day has come and it is here. It has come, says the Lord God... I shall repay. Your nation is given up, and will be left in ruins, for all their forsaking of Me. The roof is heavily weighted, all its pillars are cracked and no longer can bear the weight of their burden. The wind shall blow, the fire shall burn, and all these riches shall be consumed. A swift storm shall come upon you, and you shall not know from where it shall come, for it is already upon you. It shall reach across the oceans, it shall be swift and catch you unawares. It is building and grows in its fury... it builds and has come.

And this shall be its consequence upon you, thus shall it bring forth against you: Confusion, a swirling wind... water, a flood of fear... destruction, collapse of all your foundations. Even the earth shall rise up against you, and nature shall fight against you, oh perverse and mighty nation. When three times pass, it shall be accomplished... it shall surely come to pass."

James 5:1-8:

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you. 7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

The Promise:

"I shall
...make rich the poor,
bring the rich to nothing so they may become wealthy,..." ~ God (from: The Day, the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord, Has Come!)

"...during which time the Lord shall bring forth of them a great harvest, a great and mighty harvest, a great multitude, a refined and strong people for My name...

Then the end will come.

The King shall reign.

And that accomplished shall be finished...
it shall be completed.

Peace... one thousand years." ~ God (from: Recompense.)

Would you rather know before the collapse of the economy or would you rather have no clue and no time to prepare?

I dare you to read these articles:
http://theinternationalforecaster.com/item.php?articleid=249
http://www.shadowstats.com/article/292

Eyes receive light. Eyes do not produce light. Imagine how hard it would be to sleep if your eyes produced light. Same with ears; They receive (not produce) sound.

I think that faith is like ears and eyes. Faith is like the organ of the innermost being. It is the organ that receives the things of God. One must see to have faith and revelation is what is beheld. One must hear to have faith, and the Voice of the Shepherd is what is heard.

Thus being receptive, listening, etc. is all that is required when you have ears to hear what God is saying to the willing spirits of those predestined for redemption.

The difference between a GraceHead Christian and a LawHead Christian is NOT found in whether someone is capable of failure, but in how failure is handled when it happens.

If you stand before God holding Jesus in this bag and your deeds in another, how will you handle defeat? If you fall into sin, does it make you shrink back from God, or run to Him? How do you handle the failure?

The person that shrinks back from God when they fail reveals whether their faith is in their works or it is in Jesus. If bad behavior makes them feel as though they have less standing before God, then how can they say that their faith is in Christ? Are they not LawHeaded?

The GraceHead Christian handles failure differently, and therefore fails less often. Falling into sin for a GraceHead Christian is a catalyst for nearness to God. It causes them to run to Him as the Author and Finisher of their faith. They know that He will complete the work that He began in them, and they run to Him in their defeat. The resultant nearness keeps them from falling further, and in the nearness they know that they have every possible sin latently within them.

Is there anything that nearness to God cannot cure? Is there any reason to shrink away from Him when you fall, if your faith is in Christ alone?

• Today's Christ is Tomorrow's Worms
• GraceHeads and LawHeads
• License to Sin

QUOTE #1:

"What is life without love, and where is love without the free will to choose love, for a gift commanded is no gift at all...a gift accepted is where you shall find life, love and salvation."

Isaiah 5:20 -
Woe to those who:
call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Psalms 109:5 -
Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

Proverbs 17:13 -
Whoever rewards evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house.

Psalms 35:12 -
They reward me evil for good, to the sorrow of my soul.

Psalms 38:20 -
Those also who render evil for good, they are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.

Is it the weak, that contradict God? The unlearned? The not-so-bright? The young and immature? The ignorant? Is it they that oppose God?

Never.

Pride always opposes God. Weakness is always a prerequisite for God's grace.

Humility is not saying "I am nothing." It is saying that "I have nothing."
So, what is your boast? What do you posses? Do you HAVE that it takes to do anything of lasting value? ... or are you dependent/humble/needy?

If you have something that nobody else has, then welcome to the fringe of the Kingdom or worse. Welcome to the windy, dry, and cold pinnacle of the pyramid of your own boastful accomplishment, while the rest of us sit below as the lowly of the lowly. Right?

WRONG.

The grandiosity of piety knows no end, and relies fully on your strength. Ability is the boast of the proud.

Meanwhile, those that lack - will find. The weak will be strong. The needy will be filled. The gentle will be victorious. The burdened will have rest. ... for they have God.

For VIDEO, Click Here (or the title above)--> (B&W)Thick Clouds and Darkness, Bitter Sorrows... Day of the Lord.

[*To READ the whole Letter, click here--> A Day of Thick Clouds and Darkness, Bitter Sorrows... The Day of Deliverance and Judgment...The Day of the Lord.]