God's Will - Chapter 3
I've been thinking about the whole "Simple Will" deal, and the more I think about it, the more I want to explain it. The reason why is because I never want anyone to get the idea that if something makes sense, that's what you ought to do. For instance...
Money. More times than not, I've had to make a decision in favor of something when I didn't have the funds to carry it out. Bad financial planning, or dependence upon the Holy Spirit? Not that I am a great financial planner - or that I exhibit that much self control with my spending - but sometimes, I knew there was something I had to do that didn't make sense.
Example - The music this blog is named after, and the CD that my profile picture came from, was published when I didn't have a dime to my name. But this was one of those cases of God's Specific Will overruling my common sense understanding of how recording an album would take place. I knew I was supposed to record. I knew when. But I didn't know how. In prayer, I felt pointed by scripture and by the Spirit to do it without creating any debt. Not knowing how it would pan out, I asked friends and family to buy their copies of my album before I ever set foot into a studio. Once I had some money coming in, I recorded as I had money to do so. I had some things donated - artwork, time. And when it was all said and done, the day the check was due, I had the exact amount in the bank that I needed to cover it.
Knowing what I needed to do, namely record, I had the three-part decision making paradigm work itself out in the process. God told me in Scripture that I didn't need to create debt by living beyond my means while making this project or by taking out a loan. God told me Specifically that the time and way to record was immediate, making the commitment to do so with musicians and getting my artwork done before I knew I would be able to finish the project. And God told me through Simple Will to time out my recording project according to the steps he had provided for in the way people's donations and purchases came in. There were times when my Simple Will thought "God, is it really going to come together? Everything seems so iffy." But God absolutely came through in awesome provision.
Now, I have the "itch" to record again. I've made more friends in the business, and musical talents that I would like to have record with me. I have written more songs, and been given more opportunities to grow through past struggles. My Simple Will, common sense mind says, "God did it before. Go for it again." But I don't feel that I have been released by the Specific Will of God to start yet. But in the meantime, I am writing more songs, writing this blog.
Carrying out the paradigm described in the first chapter, I have this idea. And I still don't have money to pay for it, so I am at God's mercy for fulfilling it. I can either save the money myself, make it with extra guitar lessons, get donations again, take out a loan....whatever. Nothing in here is unscriptural. But 1 Chronicles 28:9-10 tells me that God is weighing my motives. Why do I want to record? What do I want to do with the recording? The first one didn't become the big launching platform I had hoped for. Now I don't want to be launched anywhere. I just don't want to forget my own music. And I just like the process of getting into the studio. So I don't feel like I've got any ulterior motives. I just want to play music. So I am going to move in that direction. And if God doesn't want it to be completed, He will stop me. That's how this plays out, if my 3D decision-making paradigm is followed.
This is kind of a weird place to end a chapter, but I can't think of anything else I want to say right now on the subject, so....
Money. More times than not, I've had to make a decision in favor of something when I didn't have the funds to carry it out. Bad financial planning, or dependence upon the Holy Spirit? Not that I am a great financial planner - or that I exhibit that much self control with my spending - but sometimes, I knew there was something I had to do that didn't make sense.
Example - The music this blog is named after, and the CD that my profile picture came from, was published when I didn't have a dime to my name. But this was one of those cases of God's Specific Will overruling my common sense understanding of how recording an album would take place. I knew I was supposed to record. I knew when. But I didn't know how. In prayer, I felt pointed by scripture and by the Spirit to do it without creating any debt. Not knowing how it would pan out, I asked friends and family to buy their copies of my album before I ever set foot into a studio. Once I had some money coming in, I recorded as I had money to do so. I had some things donated - artwork, time. And when it was all said and done, the day the check was due, I had the exact amount in the bank that I needed to cover it.
Knowing what I needed to do, namely record, I had the three-part decision making paradigm work itself out in the process. God told me in Scripture that I didn't need to create debt by living beyond my means while making this project or by taking out a loan. God told me Specifically that the time and way to record was immediate, making the commitment to do so with musicians and getting my artwork done before I knew I would be able to finish the project. And God told me through Simple Will to time out my recording project according to the steps he had provided for in the way people's donations and purchases came in. There were times when my Simple Will thought "God, is it really going to come together? Everything seems so iffy." But God absolutely came through in awesome provision.
Now, I have the "itch" to record again. I've made more friends in the business, and musical talents that I would like to have record with me. I have written more songs, and been given more opportunities to grow through past struggles. My Simple Will, common sense mind says, "God did it before. Go for it again." But I don't feel that I have been released by the Specific Will of God to start yet. But in the meantime, I am writing more songs, writing this blog.
Carrying out the paradigm described in the first chapter, I have this idea. And I still don't have money to pay for it, so I am at God's mercy for fulfilling it. I can either save the money myself, make it with extra guitar lessons, get donations again, take out a loan....whatever. Nothing in here is unscriptural. But 1 Chronicles 28:9-10 tells me that God is weighing my motives. Why do I want to record? What do I want to do with the recording? The first one didn't become the big launching platform I had hoped for. Now I don't want to be launched anywhere. I just don't want to forget my own music. And I just like the process of getting into the studio. So I don't feel like I've got any ulterior motives. I just want to play music. So I am going to move in that direction. And if God doesn't want it to be completed, He will stop me. That's how this plays out, if my 3D decision-making paradigm is followed.
This is kind of a weird place to end a chapter, but I can't think of anything else I want to say right now on the subject, so....
posted by Joanna | 12:31 PM
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