Have you ever watched a child start a project and asked them what they are making and gotten an answer like "I don’t know yet".  My son does that, he will start building something, or doing a craft, with no particular thought in mind as to what it will look like in the end, but he knows it will be something when he gets to the end.  Then he reaches that point and he will proclaim something to the effect of "Look it’s a cat!" and I will be fascinated that he spent an hour building it and got there not knowing that is where he was going when he started.

As adults we don’t operate that way.  We would never start a project without knowing what we intended it to look like when we were done.  Artists are the only ones who operate with a different mindset sometimes, and even they usually have some idea of what the end result should be like.  God has an end result in mind for us, a very specific end result in mind.  2 Corinthians 3:18 says "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."  We are being transformed, changed into His likeness, that is what God’s end result is for us, we just don’t know exactly what that looks like.  As adults we don’t operate that way, so we will say "wait, hold on, I don’t understand!"  When we can’t see how what is happening fits into the end result of what God is doing it is not because God is hiding it from us, it is because we are not always looking to what He tells us our future is.  We often concentrate on the moment, rather then His promise, that we "are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory".

What better end result!  To be like Him!  If what we are experiencing or being asked to do is going to transform us into His likeness then even when we do not understand it should matter not, because we know He is faithful to His promises.  Unlike the child who starts the project and and doesn’t know the end result, God knows the end result He is taking you to and He is faithful to fulfill the promise and complete the task.  He asks that we place ourselves on His Anvil and allow Him to transform us because we trust Him.

Weighed down by stress, burden, trial, or decision, we began to feel anxious.  Many questions may come to our mind "am I doing the right thing?" "what should I do?" "whats going to happen?" "how am going to handle this?" "why is this happening?".  Anxiousness is part of the package, or so it seems.   There is something to be said on that subject in Philippians 4:6-7 . "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  A clear promise of God to give peace to those who make their requests known to God.

Now this does not come without a request on Gods part.  He asks that we make our requests "by prayer and thanksgiving".    We must first make our request known to God.  Yes He knows our need, but requesting it shows humility and a lifestyle of prayer and communication with God.  We must also go to God with thanks because we believe He is faithful to His promises.  Once we have made our request in prayer and thanksgiving we receive a peace "which transcends all understanding".  In John 14:27 Christ says "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  The peace we receive from the Lord is not a peace that is like that of the world.  It is a peace beyond that which we can gain from any other source.  It transcends understanding because it is beyond that of this world, it is from God himself.  There is no other peace that compares to the peace that comes from the Lord.

What is the source of your anxiousness?  Take it to the Lord in prayer, with thanksgiving because you know He is faithful to fulfill His promises.  One of these promises is to relieve your anxiousness.

The author of Hebrews writes in chapter 10 verses 19-25:

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Heb 10:19-25 )

Holding onto Christ and others believers seems so easy when our lives our easy, but when our lives are not easy, when the path is rough, it becomes more difficult for us to see why we would do so.  What we need is to be assured that regardless of the condition of our path, drawing near to God is still possible.  This passage tells us that we have a "new and living way" opened for us.  Christs death on the cross made it possible for us to do draw near to God because it removed the veil between us and God.  We have the ability to be washed with a pure water, the water of life that Christ gives. (John 4:13-14 )  When we have confidence in this we can draw near to God at all times, regardless of our circumstance, regardless of what is on our path.

If we are pulling away from other believers in the midst of something rocky on our path, then we are missing out on the opportunity to encourage others believers.  How is it possible to encourage others believers when you are going through a rough journey?  The Lord is faithful to that which He promises, and one of His promises is found in Psalm 145:14 "The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down." (Ps 145:14 )  When we are drawing near to God and He is lifting us up and other believers  see how the Lord is working in our life that is the most powerful way we can encourage them towards love and good deeds.  When we pull away from other believers in the midst of our rough journey we remove an opportunity for them to be encouraged by the Lords work in our life.

If you find yourself pulling away from the Lord because of your circumstance, remember our hope is firm in what Christ did.  A promise firm in the One who is always faithful, who wants you to remain unswirvingly attached to that hope regardless of your circumstance.  He will lift you up, cry out to Him.