Some Days Fighting Orcs Would Be Easier

Life can be challenging most days, at least for me it can be.  There are times when I feel it would be easier to face down a horde of angry Orcs rather than enter into what the day holds for me.  If you know me, then you know that I love fantasy and science fiction.  Really what I love is a good story, I always have. I'm a very visual person too, that's actually how I learn .  When I can see something in a story that I can apply to my life, then it helps me to learn and grow.

There is a scene in the Lord of the Rings which takes place as Frodo decides he must leave the fellowship and take the ring into Mordor by himself.  As Frodo is talking to Aragorn and asking him to watch over his friends, a number of Orcs arrive on the scene.

Telling Frodo to run, Aragorn turns to face what for most men would be certain death, yet there is a smile which creeps onto his face as he draws his sword gripping it ever so tightly, then charging straight towards them.  And there is a part of me that thinks that would actually be easier to deal with too.

I think the reason I feel this way, is that at least if you are fighting 100 Orcs, you know what you are up against, there is a tangibility by which I can judge where I am.  Yet the day to day life for me can at times become so mundane.  It's hard to know what God is up to in my life some days because of the normal daily grind; I'm up early, drink my coffee, do my Bible reading, go to work then come home and clean up, rest for a few hours then go to bed so that I can get up and repeat the cycle the next day.  It's like rinse, lather, rinse, and repeat.


The thing is that I know God is working in my life even when I can't see it, it's just that at times I sure wish I could see what was going on behind the scenes.  Have you ever felt like that?  Some days a little bit of clarity would be nice, although I have never found where God promised that we would have clarity, instead He says that we just need to trust Him.  Take a look at Proverbs 3:5 - 6:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight."

So while I may never face down a horde of angry Orcs, and my days may at times all look the same day after day, I will continue to trust the Lord with all of my heart, knowing that He is at work in the background making my paths straight.  And that my friends does my heart a world of good for sure.  Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

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What Were You Created To Do?

Isaiah 6:1-3 "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another:  


“Holy, holy , holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”


A few days ago, I was having a conversation with a young man and we were talking about our place in the world and what God wanted us to do with our lives.  During the course of our talking together the passage in Isaiah came up.  He asked me, "Don't you think that those creatures ever get tired of doing what they're doing and want to do something different?"


As I thought about his question, I found myself saying to him, "Not at all.  You see they were created for just that one thing.  And when you are doing what you are created to do, then you never get bored with it, or want to change and do something else.  Because you are doing exactly what you were created to do."


The conversation ended, and we went our separate ways, but I continued to think about what I had said to him.  It was one of those moments when the Holy Spirit had revealed something to my heart, and I had spoken about one of the mysteries of the Kingdom by revelation, and not from my own knowledge.  And the truth of what was revealed to me that day is astounding.


There are all kinds of people who are in the world doing all kinds of things with their lives. There are those kids who finish high school and go to college seeking an education so that they can go out and make lots of money, and become someone in this world.  And don't get me wrong, I don't think there is anything bad about getting an education.  What I find is contradictory about education is when young people go after it in order to chase the dream of what they think will make them happy.  And the truth of what will make you happy and satisfied in this life is if you are doing what you have been created to do.


I have told my kids since they were old enough to understand me that I didn't care what they did with their lives, as long as they followed the leading of the Holy Spirit and did what God created them to do.  I have not pushed my agenda for what I think they should be doing with their lives, instead their mother and I have encouraged them to find out from the Lord what they are supposed to be doing and go and do just that.  And praise God that is what they are doing.


Because the truth of the matter is, no matter what God has created you to do, if you are doing it you will be satisfied, have the supply which you need to make it and never once be unhappy with your life.  And there are so many unhappy people in this world, mostly because they are chasing the dream of what they think will make them happy, instead of finding that thing which God created them to be and doing that.  And we can never truly be happy, satisfied and blessed unless we are doing what we have been created to do.


You might ask then how do I find out what I have been created to do?  First I would suggest that you talk with God about it.  Just ask Him.  The Bible is very clear that if we lack wisdom we should ask God and He will give it to us.  (James 1:5)  The second thing that I have often encouraged men to do is to get alone somewhere and think about what it is that makes you come alive on the inside.  You know, that thing that if money were no object you would make every effort to go and do.  That is a clue to what you were created to do, and sometimes it has been hidden by years of doing things you were not created to do.


Of course we have to weigh these things out and compare them to Scripture and make sure they are not contradictory to what God's Word says either.  I have known people who have taken this out of context, left their jobs and run to do what God created them to do and in the process have lost everything.  We have to use a little wisdom here too.  Talk to God about what you should be doing, get a plan to work towards that goal.


For instance, what makes me come alive, and the thing that God has created me to do is to write and help people discover the things of God.  So for some time now I have been moving in that direction with my life.  But, I have not quit my job and stayed home to write a best selling novel, no I get up every morning and go to work.  You see, I have responsibilities which I have to meet in order to continue eating and living in my home and providing for my family.  But I do work towards my goal of following what the Lord has created me for every day, looking for opportunities to achieve this little by little.  Remember our life is run like a marathon, not a sprint.  


So do that, ask the Lord what He created you to do, find those things that make you come alive and then begin to follow after them.  And what you will see is that one day you will be doing that thing that you were created to do, and you will be very content in your life.  Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!