There are times in life when the right direction could not be more obvious. Paul Sailhamer snapped this image while driving home from Arizona to California recently which got me thinking.
Growing up in Iowa, I remember the phenomenon of the cattle chute. Cattle were loaded into trucks or railroad cars using this method. The cattle entered single file into the chute and then were propelled
through a sloping channel into waiting vehicles. Once they were in the chute they could not turn back or entertain any other options. They could only move forward into their destiny.
through a sloping channel into waiting vehicles. Once they were in the chute they could not turn back or entertain any other options. They could only move forward into their destiny.
Sometimes I feel like one of those cattle. A force outside myself is propelling me forward while keeping me boxed in on all other sides. This is disconcerting to say the least and in the larger sense extremely frustrating to navigate with a submissive attitude. Do you ever feel like I do? If you do, then read on.
In many life situations there are choices which include good, bad or neutral options. Situations involving choice always require wisdom. Then there are situations in which the will of God is clear and unmistakable like the arrow above. When God's will and my will align we are good to go because I don't care about other options.
A big problem shows up when I do care about other options. I struggle when the way ahead does not align with my will but nevertheless is clearly the obvious direction I am to go. Remind you of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane? At this point I wish I had not heard Darryl's definition of maturity. He says that the more mature the person - the quicker the repent. Bummer! I can't get away with anything less than humble submission and retain my mature status!
The bottom line is that no purpose of God can be thwarted (Job 42:2). I eventually acknowledge God as the force propelling me forward. Unfortunately that admission does not necessarily bring comfort right away. I am left to press on just like Paul in Philippians 3:13&14, Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Faith is the heroic effort of your life,
as you fling yourself in reckless confidence on God.
- Oswald Chambers
So, here is the deal. I have been recognizing signs of change over the last year which were directing me to resign from my position as Executive Director of the Center for Women with Vision at Phoenix Seminary. As much as I have enjoyed my playground there, it is time to transition through the chute to my destiny. If this sounds mysterious - well, it is! I cannot fully explain it or even understand it all right now, but I am a cow in the chute and I have nowhere else to go but to fling myself in reckless confidence on God. Onward!
