For God is not a God of disorder but of peace-as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.  1 Corinthians 14:33

Yesterday we spoke of being sure that you were hearing God and following God and not being deceived by the devil.  Yesterday’s blog was a long one but after I had posted it, I also felt that I needed to share this with you.  Yesterday we spoke of sheep following their shepherd.  No confusion in that, right?  They know him, they hear his voice, they follow him, simple enough.

When we do this, we keep out of trouble and stay on the right path.  The problem is that the devil, who seeks to kill, steal, and destroy, is waiting on that path to try to lure us away from the shepherd.  The devil wants us to think that it’s okay to take his path.

I have often heard it said that “God is not the author of confusion”.  This saying comes from this scripture passage that we are using today.  I guess we could also say that a confused Christian is an oxymoron.  You see, we are not expected to be strong and brilliant.  We are expected to draw from God’s strength and wisdom.  When we do this, there should be no confusion.

Now let me say this, before I committed my life to Christ and began to closely follow Him and listen to His commands, I stayed confused.  I sounded like a broken record saying “what should I do?”.  Any major decision seemed to throw me into a tailspin.  I would survey 5-10 of my closest friends and relatives to see what they thought I should do.  I look back on those days and laugh.  You see now I just consult one relative, my Heavenly Father.  This Father truly knows best, and better than that, He truly wants what is best for me.  I thank God for His presence in my life.  I know that at any time I feel confused or unsure about a decision I only have to come to Him.

In the last year, I have gone through some very trying times.  My family was torn apart by a matter that wound up in the court system.  My church was torn apart by another matter that caused a huge split.  Both my families were suffering devastation at the same time.  It was gut wrenching.  But let me tell you something, I wasn’t confused.  I stayed in prayer and I stayed close to God and I was at peace.  I had friends ask me how I could be so peaceful and calm.  All I could say was, “God’s got this!”  And He did.  I stayed in close contact with my Lord and Savior through constant prayer and He guided me through every step of the way.  I remember one morning I had a decision to make and I prayed to God.  He immediately brought the names of four friends to mind.  I realized that each friend He had brought to mind was someone that I respected as a mature and wise Christian.  I knew that He wanted me to speak with them.  I did and all four gave me the same answer, no confusion there.  I knew what God wanted me to do.

Yesterday we spoke of Eve in the garden of Eden.  If you will recall, when the serpent approached her she told him that she and Adam could not eat from and not touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they would certainly die.  Now the serpent immediately told her “you will certainly not die”.

God had told Adam that they must not eat from that tree or they would die.  He had said nothing about touching it.  So somehow Eve had added to God’s word.  The serpent wanted her to think that she had misunderstood God.

Satan wants us to think that we misunderstand what God wants us to do.  He likes to throw us into confusion.  By doing this, he can keep us from doing the work God has called us to do.

Several days ago about we spoke of Nehemiah and his rebuilding the wall.  You see Nehemiah was so focused on God and what God had called him to do, that he could not be distracted.  He made an effort to not be distracted.  He put guards up to protect the workers physically, he refused to come down to meet with his opponents.  He worked at not being distracted.

When we can be distracted, we can be confused.  If we stay focused there will be no confusion.  God’s got this!  Don’t be afraid to let him have it, you will get so much peace in return.  Confusion sets in when we try to go it on our own.  Remember we are sheep following the shepherd, not wolves trying to lead a pack.

Now nobody wants to be confused, right.  So the question here is why would anyone try to go it on their own and suffer the confusion and chaos that follows?  Well I can say from my own experience that I did this because I was afraid of what God might want me to give up.  I was afraid of the changes that I knew God might make in my life.  I was just afraid.  The devil had me convinced that I couldn’t make it if things changed and I did it God’s way.  Let me tell you my friend, I couldn’t have made it much longer if I hadn’t given it over to God.  The burden had become way too much for me to bear.

So today, if you are facing a particular problem and feel confused about which way you should go, give it to God.  I mean really give it to God.  Trust Him to lead you to where you should be.  If confusing rhetoric is playing over in your mind then tell the devil to get away from you.  God is not trying to confuse you, God is trying to lead you.  Don’t let satan distract you.

My prayer for you today is that you see and hear the Shepherd clearly.  I pray that you do not allow yourself to be distracted by the sight and sound that comes from the devil.  Follow the Good Shepherd.  Just as the 23rd Psalm says, He will lead you into green pastures and beside still waters.  Best of all, He will refresh your soul and guide you along the right paths for His name’s sake.

Have a great day!