Feeling extremely disheartened

[Sharky]

I'll give you a round down of what's going on.

All my life i've always wanted to do what God wanted me to do. I've been thinking of making movies all the time. I've been making them since highschool and my vision is a movie so big so large that the world will once again consider God.

BUt lately i've been doubting what i've been doing is what God wants me to do. A verse popped up all of a sudden and told me otherwise.

"The Jesus said to His deciples, If anyone desires to be MY diciple, let him deny himself and forget his own interests and take up his cross and follow Me."
MATT 16:24

So what does that mean? Does that mean that all this time i've been doing what i "thought" God wanted me to do is wrong? Does that mean i have to forget about what my vision means and just live radically?

Is there some difference between diciple and a normal believer? I'm extremely confused. I don't even know if it's God telling me something or satan trying to screw me over with some verse.

Right now i'm as discouraged as ever. EXACTLY what does GOD want me to do? I feel like i've been decived this whole time and i don't know what's going on.

 

[Dark_Lite]

According to the religion: If you believe that God has called you to make movies that attempt to spread the message of Christianity, then chances are that it is probably true.

 

[Sharky]

sorry mate. That doesn't help. Thanks for trying though

 

[Periann]

I think that verse was talking about forgoing daily temptations and such and NOT life long dreams, unless of course they go against Christianity. I dont think God would put in your heart something that you wouldnt dream of doing or wanting.

For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

So God has good plans for you...prosperous ones! If you truly cant reconcile your dream of making a movie that will be a Christian mega hit to God's purpose in your life, maybe it isnt. However, I dont think you should forget about it because of a few doubts. If it isnt in God's plan for you, it wont happen anyway. Sometimes the only way to know whether there is an open door is to walk through it. Of course you should pray about it though! I'll be waiting to see the movie if it happens...

 

[wvmtnkid]

Sharky-

Sounds like you have been doing some heavy thinking. One way to look at what God's purpose for you is what gifts and talents He has blessed you with. I think those would help you see what He is leading you to do. He blesses us in ways that are going to help build His kingdom. Do you have talent in this area?

As Periann said, He has plans for you. By being in constant prayer to Him and asking that His will be done in your life, your desires are going to be in tune with His desires for your life. I have found that when I pray "Your will be done" and then I proceed forth with something I want it either fails miserably or it just doesn't come about. When we pray "your will be done" we have to take that seriously. Pay attention to what God is doing in your life. Are you striving to meet goals you have set for yourself but you find yourself being taken in different directions than what you expected after you have committed your way to the Lord? Maybe God is leading you down a different path.

My advice would be to continue to pray and seek God's will. If your desire is a desire from God, He will open the doors for you. If it isn't, He will lead in the direction He has for you to go. The key is to be in tune with Him and be willing to follow where he leads.

 

[desi]

Sharky, if you want to make movies make movies. The Bible is full of some of the most amazing stories ever told. Go rent "The Ten Commandments" with Charleston Heston as Moses and you 'll know how awesome the Bible can be on screen, then just imagine what you could do with just that story having all the new special effects at your fingertips. If you do whatever you do for God you will be in God's good graces. Make movies Sharky.

 

[Yitzchak]

The word disciple is related to the word discipline. I think the way they relate is because discipline means more than just to punish, it means to train. The military talks a lot about discipline. I think the difference between a believer and a disciple is the difference between a trained soldier and just a soldier who is willing. The distinction is training.
There are many ways of training and forming discipline in our lives. Being chastized by the Lord through trials and what not is not my top choice but is effective. I prefer to think that if we will be teachable and discipline ourselves in ways such as fasting, prayer, study, etc ; then we will learn and be trained more quickly and easier.
So bottomline. My take on this verse is Jesus is giving us the proper attitude if we want to be fully trained and acheive our assignments and callings.

 

[seangoh]

Hi Sharky! It's always nice to hear from you. As wvmtnkid said, you've done some heavy thinking which is good because we have to stop and think sometimes. To be still and know that He is God(psa 46:10).

Based on what you've shared, a thought came through my mind. You know it's your desire to make movies. Personally i would want to make a movie too but probably i don't have that much passion or the know-how. Most likely i'll be the one supporting the release of the movie instead. My passion is not movie making but my passion is to build up my own church spiritually. It's a very unique passion that i have and i know of no one else telling me that their passion is the same as mine. So as i go along with what i do to satisfy my passion, i pray for strength that God can give and the wisdom too. I know of some stories in the Bible where God tells someone to do this and the next time, God would tell the person to do that instead. Sorry i can't remember those stories but i think one is about Paul who was journeying to this city and then the Lord tells him to go somewhere else.

So my point is, when you're living, do what you like to do, preferably you'll like to do something that glorifies God. And if something funny happens like a verse pops to mind about denying yourself, then stop and rethink about what you've been doing, think about your own standing before Christ because we know that we have to appear individually before God. Perhaps He is warning you to keep close to Christ otherwise you'll lose your footing by getting too busy making movies and forgetting about your own walk with God. Another way to interpret it is that God has a different plan for you other than making movies. And you don't know what this plan is, so the only hope is to start praying and asking God to provide wisdom and providence for Him to show you His plans for you.

Hope this has been helpful.

 

[secretdawn]

I'll give you a round down of what's going on.

All my life i've always wanted to do what God wanted me to do. I've been thinking of making movies all the time. I've been making them since highschool and my vision is a movie so big so large that the world will once again consider God.

BUt lately i've been doubting what i've been doing is what God wants me to do. A verse popped up all of a sudden and told me otherwise.

"The Jesus said to His deciples, If anyone desires to be MY diciple, let him deny himself and forget his own interests and take up his cross and follow Me."
MATT 16:24

So what does that mean? Does that mean that all this time i've been doing what i "thought" God wanted me to do is wrong? Does that mean i have to forget about what my vision means and just live radically?

Is there some difference between diciple and a normal believer? I'm extremely confused. I don't even know if it's God telling me something or satan trying to screw me over with some verse.

Right now i'm as discouraged as ever. EXACTLY what does GOD want me to do? I feel like i've been decived this whole time and i don't know what's going on.

Ok, well if you are doubting it then all i can say is pray, because only God can tell you. But I have a hard time believing that God would want you to NOT spread his name using your talents...perhaps instead of looking at the big picture, check out the small one. Think about how you have been acting in regards to this movie, whether the movie lives up to god, whether the people around you are affecting it and so on. Evaluate the smaller portions to make sure you are doing the movie for the right reasons.

 

[LN]

If you are pursuing movies because you want to glorify God, you should go for it!

To me this verse

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11"

Promises hope and love and prosper. Its not specific to one career or the other, to one college or the other, to one city or the other.

I personally do not have this view on life that everything is predetermined and God only has one place in the world doing one thing where He can use you. Based on all the scripture I have read, if you are avoiding sin and pursuing God daily you're on track. I say go for it and if the Lord has another place for you he'll close doors and open others.

"The Jesus said to His deciples, If anyone desires to be MY diciple, let him deny himself and forget his own interests and take up his cross and follow Me."
MATT 16:24

See, to me this would be interpreted in your situation to sacrifice worldly temptation of making secular movies and pursue making Christian ones. I read this verse as denying secular, humanistic interests and instead working to glorify God.

 

[TCapp]

I just recently purchased a book called "Decision Making and the Will of God" by Garry Friesen. I've only started reading it this morning, but already it is pretty interesting.

It provides an alternative way of thinking compared to the "traditional" view. That idea is that God doesn't have a specific, tailor-made, micromanaging, "this is exactly what I want from Sharky" type plans.

If we ask, "How can I know the will of God?" we may be asking the wrong question. The Scriptures do not command us to find God's will for most of life's choices nor do we have any passage instructing us on how it can be determined.

A better question to pursue is, "How do I make good decisions?" The Bible is more of a compass than a map. It gives guidance to help you through bewildering terrain.

This isn't to say you ignore God. Nor do you dispense with Biblically sound standards. All the tools needed to make decisions are to be found in the Scriptures, which reflect the moral will of God. The Bible encourages believers to pursue certain values and attitudes, and to avoid others. Beyond these regulations, choices may be freely made. God does not micro-manage the life-paths of each believer, but like our earthly fathers do, He expects His children to mature and to learn to make wise decisions for themselves.

 

[Mr.Cheese]

We often make things too difficult.
God wants you to have a relationship with him. That is the core, the beginning.
I believe the verse you are struggling with is referring to selfishness and pride and greed. These things are anathema to discipleship.
You're a cool guy and you're gonna be just fine. 19 is a rocky time of life. Live one day at a time. Eventually you'll find the groove.