Have You Ever Had Days Like This?

Have you ever been in the place Spiritually that this picture portrays?  Have you struggled, worked and worked to do your best in a situation, and still seemed to be in the place where this adorable example depicts?  Granted, during these times, it wasn't this cute or even remotely funny! (insert a grin)

How do we get here?  How does it this seem to happen?  I have asked myself these questions many times while in the middle of these situations in my life.  I found myself asking God why, when the things that I wanted wholeheartedly to do for Him, just wouldn't seem to ever work out.  I knew enough to examine my motives and even they seemed to be right, so what was the problem?

I have learned over time that our biggest battle within ourselves isn't having a heart after God, we generally want to be in His presence, always be ready for the next assignment (or so we think).
The mistake that we sometimes make, can be out of more than one scenario.
 
Sometimes God will give a glimpse of what He has for the future; and maybe we try to make it happen, instead of waiting on God to help us walk out the path where He will prepare us
for that time and place. Maybe it would just be something that we honestly want to do for God but He actually never  said, "This is what I want you to do." Sometimes we see something that is a good thing and we want to do that, for Him.
Either way, we would be like a football player, grab it and go!  Wholeheartedly. Really wanting to please God, but then that is where things begin to be out of alignment.

There is plenty of reason to stop right here for a moment.  God wants to teach us many things about this time in our life. And there was for me, more than one lesson to learn.

We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, but we will always need His direction first!  In every situation in our lives, God will present the opportunity for us to self evaluate.  Hear are some questions we should ask ourselves:

• Did the Father instruct me or open the door for me to do this, or is this just something that I want to do? Just because it is a good thing, doesn't mean that God intended us to go in that direction.  It must be Him that sends us !
• Is my struggle because I am trying to make this happen or is it opposition? There is a huge difference between struggle (making it happen) or opposition (hurdles).  When we do not listen for wisdom before we act, we will struggle until we get to the place that we can hear the Father say wait... wait..... I didn't want you to do that, I want you to be here with me..... 
• It is always harder without Him than it will be with Him !! That I can declare with confidence.  We always need to want to be where the Father wants us, even if it's on the wheel shaping us into the vessel He needs for such a time as this.. He always has the best planned for us.  We must trust Him !!
• I am doing what God has called me to do, but I am getting ahead of Him, instead of waiting for His direction?  The same rule applies.  We Must Wait upon the Father! We must daily seek out His will for us .
• Am I staying in His presence which is our protection and covering? Sometimes we keep going and we say, "I don't hear Him instructing me....."  But when we stop, we can realize that we aren't seeking Him and "walk on away a little bit"  Thankfully this a problem with an easy solution!

We can always come right back to the Father and ask Him to forgive us and He will begin to direct our paths again..... We just need to be mindful daily, that we are following Christ.  Wanting to be in the Father's presence and His will for us!!  He is always there, His mercies are new every morning.
Oh how grateful I am that He never gives up on me, and He will never give up on you either!! 

He is waiting on us in the Secret Place of His Presence..... There, all things are made new.
Blessings friends, Have a great day !!