Single Christian Network

by Sandra Turner

God's ways are not our ways. His plans are not our plans. What is the secret of His anointing? How does He take a natural gift or talent and make it supernatural? And how does He choose those on whom He places His anointing?

We have all seen eager, talented, well intentioned people do a job to the very best of their ability and with great devotion and energy. Yet the anointing wasn't there. There was a note of deadness about it.

And we've seen others with less skill and polish and certainly less preparation do the same thing, and the Spirit of God would fall and people would be spiritually blessed and built up. A spiritually sensitive person said to me recently - God wants what He wants. And that statement has rung like a bell in my spirit ever since.

You see it's not what we want that's important. It's what God wants. It's not our own plan and purpose that must be followed. It's God's.

We may arrange things to the very best of our ability and work to see that every thing is perfect as far as we can make it, as far as our own minds have imagined it. We may bring our plan off with some degree of success, but somehow it lacked the supernatural.The anointing of God just wasn't there.

Somehow God just wasn't in it. It was our plan and not God's. God wants what He wants - and He will have it His way or He won't enter into it at all. God has a great heart that yearns after certain things - for His plan and purpose to be accomplished. He yearns after certain people to be carriers of His anointing and to bring His plan to pass.

But it is only when we get in tune with His heart and His plan and purpose and begin to agree with Him and to walk His path that the true anointing begins to flow, that the Holy Spirit begins to have His way with us.

Some people have a great desire to serve God and a great love for God, but they also have a strong natural desire or ambition to do a certain thing so that what they are doing is actually their own thing, not God's thing.

We must get with God and find out what He wants. Just because other ministries or other churches are doing a particular thing and God is blessing them, does not mean we can follow them and get the same results.

No, we must follow the heart of God for our particular situation. God has His heart set on certain things and certain people to complete His plan. Like it or not, that's the way it is.

Is God unfair? Is He a respecter of persons? Why can't I do the thing I want to do and am talented to do? "I'm a good speaker, why can't I be a pastor?" "I love traveling so why can't I be an evangelist?" God has a place for everybody in the body of Christ. He has a purpose for everybody. But He chooses certain people for certain places according to His will, not our wants and desires or even our abilities.

He gives the blessing, the anointing and the increase where His heart is satisfied, where His wants and desires are given first place. "Well, I'm in charge here. Can't I decide who I want for certain positions?" No. If you're in charge, God put you there to carry out His will and desires, not your own.

You want to do great things for God and be happy and filled full with contentment? Find out from Him exactly what He has His heart set on for you personally. Then get on His path to that thing and don't get off.

And if you find out He's not satisfied with things the way you have set them up, be bold to tear the whole thing down and start again.

God wants what He wants and that, and that only, is what He will bless and anoint.

c 1997 Sandra S. Turner

Reprinted from Singles Scene/Spirit & Life, a nationwide meeting place for Christian Singles since 1981.