“Funny how gatherings can be used by the Lord to humble people.”
This is what my YM status reads right now. I am not going to get into details, but I just have to tell you what the Lord taught me today.
Auditions scare me. Oh yes they do. Especially if you’re pooled into a roomful of people from different races and backgrounds and you’re vying for the same position. The mixture of feelings is insane. Its like, you feel so sure of yourself one minute, and then the next you just want to disappear forever and wish that you never came. Ah, I know even the great Hollywood actors like Leonardo DiCaprio had to go through hundreds of auditions. A huge majority of which he failed but then, Leo’s time came and he’s now among the highest paid actors in the US.
When I was much younger and did not take my walk with Christ seriously, it was easy to pretend and be tough, when deep inside you knew that someone else might get the job. Through years of attending auditions here and there, I have witnessed how people cover up nervousness by bragging, acting like they’re connected to some big wig in the industry, while some go to the extent of being mean and belittling all the others.
I was very young when the Lord showed me that indeed, in this life you can’t have it all. Some people may appear to do so but if you don’t have Christ, you tend to live a pretentious life. Today, the Lord has taught me to rely on Him COMPLETELY. At times people can come and shatter your faith, but isn’t that what the enemy wants to do? Dislodge your trust? I am reminded of the days when Noah was building the ark and everyone around him thought he was crazy. If I were in Noah’s position, I would most probably question God, but Noah was a man of great faith. Because God said it, he believed it and God did it.
I have my “Noah moments” too. These are instances when I have fully placed my trust in Christ for something, then in comes a downer who rains on my parade. Quite disappointingly, even fellow Christians can be downers too.The Lord allows these instances because He wants to test our faith as well. There are times when I’d keep asking God, “When?” for I hold on to his promise and He impresses upon me that I should wait. Now I know that I am not alone when the uneasy feeling sets in when WAIT flashes before your eyes like the yellow traffic light.
It’s like you wanna jump in and tell God “Lord, I think you’re making me wait too long, let me handle this” and you go speeding to through the yellow light as if it were on green. I’d like to call this MISTAKE NUMBER 2 in the subject of waiting, because we take the steering wheel from God when He is a MUCH BETTER DRIVER than we are. No scratch that, not only is he better, he’s actually the best (Mistake Number 1 is not letting the Lord drive first. You take the driver’s seat right away and push him aside).
Dandaraaraa… and so you go speeding and the light turns red. The traffic enforcer makes his way towards you. Oh what to do what to do? You give God a look of doubt and regret and pull your hands off the wheel.
Come to think of it, having Christ in your heart is like letting him be the Driver of your life. At times however, we passengers grab the steering wheel from him and get off the path. Still, the Lord does not leave us because he is the designated Driver and Navigator of our lives. When the traffic enforcer comes in, it is Christ who gets the speeding ticket and negotiates. This is how the Lord has redeemed us from all our sins. How amazing grace is, yeah?
Ingrid Nieto-Pagulayan 