When the desires of our hearts are so strong that we thirst and hunger for them, we begin to look for coincidences that we believe are orchestrated by God. It is good to be aware of what God is doing. It is not good to create greater meaning out of a coincidence.
Eve's eating of the apple was an expression of a desire to gain access to something she hungered for. Instead of being grateful and fulfilled with the beautiful life she had, Eve went fishing with a selfish pole. She wanted more than she could handle. There are many things in life that we desire that are not intended for us to have.
Each revelation of God is like a plateau. We are designed to live life on that plateau until we receive the wisdom that comes from living there. We cannot leave the plateau until God knows that we are ready for the next step in our life journey. The distance traveled on a plateau is measured in time. We will travel on the plateau (or fall off) in days, weeks or years depending on our understanding of Gods wisdom. Some folks jump into relationships because they "just know" that the coincidences add up to love. They end up wandering on the "plateau of wrong relationships" for 40 years or more. Desiring a relationship so badly that you place your desires on the wrong person and believe them to be true is like "eating the wrong apple."
Sometimes the Spirit of God will give you directions in small increments. When God gives you direction, that causes your spirit to stand up and take notice - especially if you are ready for a change. God will not give you the whole map at once; you are not ready to see His whole picture. When you receive a directional word from God, DO NOT START WRITING THE NEXT STEP UNTIL HE HAS GIVEN IT TO YOU! It's normal to get excited about something new. It's tempting to jump in and put a new plan into action. God will lead you and guide you in the way that you should go. He will not show you the Promised Land when you are standing in a parted Red Sea. Trying to look over the horizon beyond His current miracle is not a gracious display of gratitude. It's impossible to understand and gain wisdom from His current act of mercy if you are reaching for the apple of a more excellent way. Tell Him "Thank You" and He will be gracious unto you. It would be difficult to praise God with hands lifted high when your hands are reaching for an apple of covetousness.
One of the most beautiful things that I love about fishing is that it empties my mind. When I sit with a fishing pole, I'm basically "mindless." I relax so much that my brain goes almost into a hibernation mode. The thoughts that seem to ping across my mental brain waves in millions per second are silenced. It's like I can sit down and feel a waterfalls cascading from my head to my toes. It's the flow of peace in my entire being. When I'm empty - then I can be filled by God. When God gives you direction, sit, soak and wait. Take a Shabbatt in Him. The word: "Shabbatt" is a Hebrew word and comes from root Shin-Beit-Tav which means: " to cease, to end or to rest." I've always taken the word Sabbath as meaning it's time for me to "rest in God."
You can avoid the "apple eating temptation" by resting in God. My Aunt Loise Turcott told me once that: "I can look back on my life like a road-map and see all the places where God was at work. Now I wake up everyday and ask God to add to the road-map of my life!" Thanks Aunt Loise for your words of wisdom - I will heed them well.
Thanks for your time.
Go do something nice for somebody
(and be careful with those dang apples!)
#JLYASDW
