RLD Week 5 - Being an Intentional Leader

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4

My husband has a new job - Yay!  We have to move - boo!

My husband and I are in the thick of house hunting.  We've been visiting homes with our realtor the last two or three weeks and so far have come up with nothing.  We've looked in a lot of different areas, but the fact remains that right now, southeast Michigan is a seller's market.  A house will be listed, and if it's good, within two days, there will be three offers fighting for the house.  If the house isn't good, it'll sit, and sit, and sit.  I'm incredibly stressed because everything's on a time schedule too.  It's not enough that my husband starts his job in one week and will be dealing with an hour plus commute to the office, but in two months, he'll be leaving for three months of training in Georgia.  The plan was to be moved into a house before he left, and I could stay behind and sell our house while he was gone.

Ever hear the phrase, if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans?  I'm pretty sure he's having a good one regarding us right about now.

So I'm getting more and more stressed after each day of looking at houses.  The last two times we went out, I sat on the couch and cried when we got home.  For those of you that don't know me personally, I don't cry.  My friends have often said they knew something was drastically wrong when they saw that I was in tears, which would only make them worry more.

I went to our Easter Sunday message at church, and the pastor spent a good time talking about how we cannot despair.  He even used the verse above.  I came out of church and told my husband that I needed to hear that sermon.  He smiles and says it's the same verse that his men's bible study focused on this week, and he was able to share about the stresses we're under for the house.

Last night, I pull out my study guide and review my earlier notes from when I first went through this study.  There it is, day one for this week, saying that as an intentional leader, you have to put all your faith and anxieties in God, again using this verse.  There are my notes, saying the same thing and happily boasting that I did so.  What happened?  I had lost sight of God's will and had been too focused on making things work on my schedule, with my will.  The other days focused on what to look for in those that you're discipling, how to help to guide them depending on where they are in their spiritual journey, but this was the part that stood out to me the most.  To be a disciple, you have to put God first, and consider him in all your actions.  Sometimes things will come up that seem to overshadow it, but it doesn't.  God is still in control, but it may not be on our schedules.