Gods Leading

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shpehred of the sheep.  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the words He spoke to them.  Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  I am the Good Shepherd.  The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep."
John 10: 1-11 NKJV

Much has been preached and written about how we as christians are to follow our heavenly Fathers leading.  For if we are to make a habit of doing this, then each and every decision we make will follow into His perfect will for our lives.  However, there is often confusion as to where to turn for Gods voice.  In my own experience, I have often waited for that discreet, whispered leading of my own conscience.  As one might expect, I more often than not ended up waiting a LONG time for Gods answer.  Of course, in our microwave speed society, this does not work ou too well for many a christian.  How can we go before God with a demand of, "Lord, I need a answer NOW!"  Of course, it is a wise person indeed who realizes that our Lords timing has nothing to do with our own.  For with God one day may well be a thousand years {2 Peter 3:8}.  Knowing this, can we assume honestly assume that our Lord will heed our instant call to action and do as we request of Him?  It is indeed a arrogant christian who will hold fast to this belief.  Taking this approach, our situation changes the focus from He...to me.  It is my humble opinion that all too often we end up waiting for our Lords whispered response until such time when our focus returns to Him and not ourselves.  I can't really blame too many people for taking this approach, we're living in the "Me" generation after all.  Far too many peoples conversations are laced with "I" and "Me" as the primary importance.  Well, news flash people, we're not the only humans on the planet.  Then again , when each of us faces their own mountains before us, it is very much a personal matter.

"But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  "The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  "As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.  "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd."
John 10: 12-16 NKJV

Is there a special approach one needs take in order to bring our requests to God?  No, for through Christ Jesus we now have a advocate to our heavenly Father.  Through Christ Jesus, we are granted the right to dwell in our Lords presence.  Also, through Christ we have a devine inheritance and have received the right to be forever known as children of God {John 1:12}.  And so, as children of our heavenly Father, we now have access to bring our very requests unto our Lord.  Make no mistake, when the time comes when we bring our requests unto God, He does not file them away to be dealt with later.  For our heavenly Father loves His children dearly, and placing their wants, desires and needs on the back burner would not show His love toward us.  Therefore, I believe that whenever the time comes when we are left waiting for our Lords response I can only give one peice of well earned advice...keep waiting.  For it is in His own perfect timing that our heavenly Father will reveal His plans to us.  There have been plenty of times in my own life where this advice would have been well served instead of jumping the gun and doing things on my own.  I am not shy nor embarassed to admit that my timing sucks and Gods is better.  For this must indeed be our focus whenever we bring our requests to God.  It is not me, but He.  Knowing this, we can be at peace knowing that the creator of all the universe, to who we are now divinely related, has our best interests at heart.

~Scott~