Don't conform but be transformed ...

I had the privelege of witnessing holy matrimony of a co-worker a few weeks ago. It was great!! It was a great service, great reception, great couple, great company. Everything was just great ... Except me.
I was depressed. I was feeling low; like a loser. I began to reflect on what I've invested my life into and really started to question whether or not it was worth it. Was it worth it to invest all of my time, energy, blood, money, doing ministry? Was all that time spent with students, or at church, or at that camp worth it? After all, here's a guy that's my same age, and he's getting married. He's got his Bachelors degree and a Master of Divinity. He has a significant other. He has his own apartment now. He's starting a new chapter in life. And what have I accomplished so far? Well I'm 27. I don't even have my Bachelor's degree. I don't have a house to call my own. I don't have a wife, and I'm not even dating anyone right now. I pretty much feel like I failure; like I don't measure up. I don't have much to show.
I felt that way for a couple of days, but then I God spoke to me through his Word. I was reading about the Israelites in Exodus 17 and here is the account:

Exodus 17
Water From the Rock
1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink."
Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?"
3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?"

4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me."

5 The LORD answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah [a] and Meribah [b] because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"

God spoke to me through this passage. The part that sticks out to me is the bold part of verse 1. The Israelites "traveled from place to place as the LORD commanded them." The background on this story of the Israelites is that God guided them out of Egypt and when I say God guided them I mean he literally guided them. He led them as a cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night and in many of the accounts it says that when the cloud/pillar of fire set out, the Israelites moved, and when it stayed still they stayed still (no matter how long). They stayed where they were for a period ranging from a few hours to a few months sometimes. When the cloud/pillar of fire left they left. God guided them!! That's exciting!! That means that where ever they were was where God wanted them to be and as long as they were following God, they were in a good place.
As I look back on my life I can be content and rest in the fact that these 27 years, God has guided me. And without a shadow of doubt I can say that where I am is where God has placed me.
The experiences I've had in my life have shaped and prepared me for what I'm doing now and what I'm doing now is preparing me for what God has for me later on in life. Whether that includes a wife, a house, a BA, MA, or PhD is all up to God!! I think of where I am right now and realize that the only reason I'm here is because of God!! I've made mistakes a long the way and some things that God was trying to teach me I have been slow to get. But here I am. I'm 27. I am healthy. I have no debt. I own my own car; it works, and the LORD provided every time I need one (5 times to be exact). I have a job even though I turned it down a few years ago because I knew it wasn't the time, and I don't have a Bachelors degree. And most importantly, I KNOW GOD!!! I KNOW GOD!! I'm not sure how many people my age can say that, but it doesn't even matter. I KNOW GOD!! I have a relationship with HIM. I talke to HIM AND HE TALKS TO ME!! HE LEADS ME!! HE USES ME!! HE'S BROUGHT ME TO WHERE I AM AND WHEN IT'S TIME TO EITHER GO SOMEWHERE ELSE OR GO HOME I'LL BE GONE!!!

Our world puts so much pressure on us to measure up to worldy standards of happiness. You graduate from high school, go to college, graduate, get married, perhaps get a masters, have kids, save up for your 401K, work a few decades, retire, and then you can be happy with money in the bank and time on your hands to do what you want to do. Even the church puts pressure on us. I can't tell you how many times I've been told that I need to finish my degree. "JUST GET THAT DEGREE DONE!!" "I NEED TO HELP YOU FIND A WIFE!" 'Do you have your eye on anyone?' I hear these messages constantly and every time I'd hear them I'd feel this immense wait to conform to the pressure and since I wasn't fitting that mold I wasn't feeling happy. I felt like a failure. But this is what the LORD says, "Do not conform any longer to the patter of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is. His good pleasing and perfect will."

Long story short, my spirit has been lifted. I'm where I should be right now.
The other day a lady at my church told me that I need to get my degree done and find a wife. I wanted to say 'get thee behind me Satan.' Instead I just said, 'His kingdom come and his will be done, on earth and in my life as it is in heaven. AMEN!!