I love how the words ‘man’ and ‘Lord’ are in the same sentence in the above scripture. It’s a reflection of how close our relationship with God is meant to be, but only when we let him do the establishing.  There’s the acknowledgment that God sees our heart, but also the reality of God’s gentle redirection.  I use the word gently, because oftentimes, He waits for us to call on Him to make those changes. Sometimes He even allows us to kick and scream first.  When we are ready to hear, that’s when we can receive direction that we might not have originally intended. 

Sometimes I believe that we carry a dream and purpose in our hearts. But then in the same breath, we take it into our own hands and try to produce the result, like picking a frail flower from its soil and crushing it with our own hands instead of trusting His process.  If I had tried to become a doctor since second grade, never wavering from my desire regardless of my obvious unsuitability to the job, I strongly believe I would not accrue returning patients. But thankfully God saw my heart and He redirected.   

I wonder if Jesus had been asked what He ‘did.’ If He responded simply, “a carpenter,” the person asking missed out on so much more, didn’t they? Lately it has been my goal not to ask children what they want to be, or even ask adults what they do. I still do sometimes, because it’s a cultural norm, but if you skip that question, it makes the conversation more interesting.  We are so much more than our occupation, even if it’s an awesome one.  

If you have any unmet desires in your life, I encourage you today to pray and give that desire back to Him to see what He does with it!  God longs to see us fulfilled, but only He can see which path best suits our lives.  It can be a painful when we let go, but He is most gracious and loving in our journey, and He knows what is best.