God, Where Did I Go Wrong?

God, Where Did I Go Wrong?

Do you ever wonder how on earth you ended up messing up things once again? Especially when you thought you had asked God’s blessings on your projects? How did everything go wrong when you thought God was in your team?
These questions used to haunt me, too. Until I laid them to the Lord and asked him to explain me where I had gone wrong. How could I have avoided these pitfalls? How could I have made wiser decisions?

The answer to these questions was almost too simple. When I honestly looked back at my mistakes I realized that every time I’ve had ended up messing up things I had proceeded with my life without truly consulting the Lord. Just like Joshua and the israelites. “They didn’t ask for any decision from the LORD.” (Joshua 9:14, CEB)

Instead I had brought my decisions and plans to the Lord to be blessed and thought I was covered. But that’s not the way it works. We are to go to God without any ready-made plans. We are to ask for guidance with open minds and hearts. And we are to listen first and foremost to God and not other people. We need to grow our confidence in God and become bold in following his Word no matter what is popular in our neighborhood. We can be certain God’s will is not something that goes against the Bible.

It is great that we believe in God and we have accepted Jesus as our Savior. But we need to apply our beliefs into our lives! And also Jesus needs to be our Lord (not “just” our Savior) whom we obey. When we live what we believe we start acknowledging God in everything we do. Then we truly live by faith not by our own intelligence.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart;
   don’t rely on your own intelligence.
Know him in all your paths,
   and he will keep your ways straight.
(Proverbs 3: 5-6, CEB)

The more I rely on God, the more I pray. The more I pray, the more connected to God I become. We don’t need to retreat to pray for hours before every single decision we ever make. We just need to learn to pray as we go. By uttering a simple “Help me, God” prayer we acknowledge God and ask for his wisdom as we tackle the problems as they rise.

But, of course, when it comes to making big life decisions and plans, we might need to pray, listen, and wait for the answers quite some time. But when we start things with God, we can rest assured that God will be with us all the way. Life is so complicated that there is no way we can know what’s best for us. But when God Almighty is the One who is directing our paths we know he will keep our ways straight. This does not, of course, mean that even if we are in the center of God’s will, there would never be any problems in our lives. But we know even then “that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28, CEB)

 

Gracious God,
Forgive us for being head-strong, stubborn, and unyielding.
Be literally our Lord and Savior.
Come and be our everything.
Guide us, direct our paths
because only You know what’s best for us.
Show us how to live out our faith.
Show us how to apply your Word into our lives.
Show us how to live in your grace.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: How have you learned to apply your faith into your life?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you learn to rely on God in everything!

Giving thanks today for
#15 God’s guidance
#16 the Holy Spirit speaking to us
#17 God’s forgiveness
#18 new beginnings
#19 God’s loving-kindness
#20 spiritual growth
#21 Our God who personally cares for each of us
#22 spiritual friendships
#23 the Word of God
#24 God’s presence in our lives
#25 Our prayer-hearing God
#26 We have not been left to manage on our own
#28 The Holy Spirit dwelling in us
#29 Grace working in us
#30 God’s Light shining on us

Image courtesy of Megan Watson.
Linking up today with Sharing His Beauty &Hear it on Sunday, Use it on Monday &

18 thoughts on “God, Where Did I Go Wrong?

  1. I found your site, linking from Graceful, and enjoyed reading your post.

    I’ve learned that even when we seek God’s will and proceed according to His plan, things often turn out quite differently than we hoped or expected.  Sometimes we’re disappointed in the outcome, and have to learn that His ways are higher than ours, before we can see that He was orchestrating events according to His plan, all along.

    Blessings!

    1. Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Joseph! Yes, God’s ways are indeed different -and much higher and better- than ours! Learning to trust God even when things are not going to our liking is essential. Because chaos is never God’s last word. Better things ahead! 🙂 Abundant blessings to you!

  2. So excited to have won the Common English Bible – thank you! Can’t wait to start using it to enhance my time in the Word. Thank you! Also, love your thoughts here. It is so hard to be open to where God leads us, especially when we have our own ideas about how things should work. Thanks for these good thoughts.

    1. Congratulations, Courtney! I am so glad you are excited! I love reading different translations, they all bring some unique gifts! Thank you also for your feedback. It is indeed hard to be open but once we’ve tasted the goodness of God (and experienced the messes we’ve made) nothing else will eventually do! God’s best blessings to you on your faith journey!

  3. Faith is always difficult for me (I like to see and know and be certain….hmmm, control? Uh, yes!). But, faith has also proved to be a comfort for me. It allows me take some of the burnden I carry around off my shoulders and place them on God’s.

    1. Thank you, Amy, for sharing your thoughts! Faith is indeed a wonderful gift…but we can’t capture it for good, we need to ask for more all the time. We can’t fake it or make it. But if we ask, God will give us more. And more. And more. But then we are asked to go and bless others. 🙂 Abundant blessings to you, sis, on your faith adventures!

  4. So true!  When we come to God with our hopes and dreams, it is important to have an open mind to His leading and to His plan!  In my life, it’s when I’ve run ahead of Him that I run into trouble!  It is crucial to consult Him (and heed His advice) in everything we do! 

  5. Hi before I was born again, I had a good job good life now I seem to be suffering financially, in a job I hate and almost made homeless. Wife and 2 kids with no career prospects. Asking God to guide me but no answer. Feel really lost is this part of the born again life?

    1. I hear you, my friend. First of all you need to know that God has not promised to make us rich or give us easy lives. But he has promised to be with us every day of our lives and lead us to heaven. I am waiting for God’s guidance too right now. It is hard to wait but it is necessary because God is waiting for the optimal timing and the best solution for our problems. So I press on and try to use my time wisely while waiting: praying, reading the Bible, praising God and counting my blessings. From the point of eternity our lives look good, you know. You have a lovely wife and two great kids. Spend time with them and get ready for new things to come. Hope this helps. God has not forgotten you! Blessings upon blessings!

  6. when we pray for things to work out in a way that we think would bless us most, we set ourselves up for disappointment if it doesn’t happen…praying His will is so important as a Christian, then resolutely trusting Him for the outcome, no matter what…yes, counting the overlooked blessings in life while remaining faithful to praise Him, continuing to be mindful & thankful for the precious gift of eternity~oh, what peril were saved from, just in that…asking often for His help, while waiting & choosing to model a Christ centered life~soon u’ll see GOD has been so very GOOD…He definitely has His own purposes that He works out in & thru us, so it’s essential we wait & love Him thru obedience to know His will, even when it’s hardest…in the meanwhile, He teaches & reveals so much when we r faithfilled~He shows us how much more faithful He is, when we try to live as He calls us to :~)

      1. oh my, yes & amen to that! years & years of learning how to wait on Him…thinking about the dumps of life, not wanting any one to waste 1 moment of time in them~my dear sweet Grandma~ma used to put the ‘rose colored’ glasses on (that’s what we called it) didn’t fully understand it until much later in life!
        dear Jesus, our model & guide, help all to know that the investment to follow today, is very much worth the pay off tomorrow…please pour out a strong desire, ur good grace, to followers in much need of experiencing peace in following U, Amen.
        Blessings & hugs <3 sweet, sis!

  7. I have ran ahead of God most my life….all Not once asking Him, I did not know Truly and then whenot crashed I was so angry and upset a mess. Now I feel fragmented and just gave up but something wrong initially looking at everyone else and not knowing how to walk in spirit. It is not what I want. Looking for miracle and not trust and look at others or be spiritually blind. Self will

    1. Thank you for commenting, Tricia. We can’t but God can. Ask God to give you the desire to walk in the Holy Spirit. And then ask for the power to do so. God is ready to answer your prayers. Don’t give up and don’t give in. God has the answers you’re looking for. Abundant blessings to you, Tricia!

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