Taking a Step Back

Have you ever been in a place of indecision desperately awaiting for someone or something to reveal itself to you in order for you to get an answer to a certain aspect of your life? Did the uneasiness or the anxiety of not having a solid answer lead you to make rash choices that ultimately lead you to a place that left you even more stressful and uneasy than before? If the answer to both of these questions is a yes, then you are definitely not the only one.

In my life as of late, due to certain situations that just seem to be piling on top of one another, I have been overcome with an immense lack of purpose, or better put, a vague sense of direction. So vague in fact, that I unknowingly made the decision to seek the advice of others rather than to seek the promises of God.

I did not mean to do this intentionally of course nor did I seek the advice from others, primarily those in leadership, to replace the guidance and promises of God in any way. I just felt that I needed to speak to someone about the things that were going on in my life, so much so that I sought the advice of someone rather than going to The One.

Before proceeding, let me just say that seeking guidance from leadership is not a bad thing.

Hebrews chapter thirteen verse seventeen reads, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (Hebrews 13:17).

In this verse it clearly says to remember our leaders and to imitate their faith. Equally so it shows that its okay to go to leadership for instruction and direction. It does become a very bad thing however, when one decides to solely rely on the teaching of a leader without seeking God and his will.

Now, I thought that if I went from person to person asking them for advice and how they felt about certain situations affecting me, that they would be able to influence me enough to somehow lead me into the right direction. I was wrong.

Though my leadership honestly cares and loves me and wants the best things in the world for my life, no matter how much they care about me, and no matter how much they love me, none of that equates to a fraction of how much God truly cares for me.

Again, ultimately it matters where one’s heart is when seeking instruction and guidance from leadership, because if ones heart is not in the right place, than the decisions that they make are sure to be misplaced as well.

In the book of Romans chapter eight verses thirty-seven through thirty-nine it reads, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).

When God has our lives in his hands and has the very best for not only our present but our future as well, why is it so difficult to trust him and so simple to trust the many people of this world that need Jesus just as much as we do?

Sometimes when we ask for God's will in our lives, and we feel that God isn't working "fast enough" we feel the need to take things into our own hands and start planning out how we think God wants us to move. Then, when God begins to tell us what it is that he truly wants us to do, we get upset because his plans don't line up with what we had in mind.

This is especially true in my life. I earnestly pray to be made more like David, a man after God’s own heart, and for me to be able to seek what God wants for me to do, but sometimes that is the biggest issue! Not seeking after God’s own heart, but thinking that I can do something so that God can speak to me and direct me. 

When God wants to speak, he will speak. He does not need me to say “okay God I’m ready”, he knows exactly when I should receive something and exactly when not to.

Very recently I received a word from a friend that had helped me realize and understand the errors behind my behavior and my choices.

The scripture reads, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him” (Psalm 32:8-10).

He will instruct us, and reveal to us whatever it is HE intends for us to have rather than the ideas and plans that we forge in our minds and hearts. What God wants for our lives is HIS best, not our speculations of what we think the best for us should be.

On top of that, this verse says that God’s LOVING eye is on us. The loving portion was not placed here by mistake, nor is the fact that God may or may not have spoken to us yet.

Sometimes I feel as if God is not listening or paying attention to me, but in this verse it says that he is lovingly watching me. Which means if he is watching me so intently, it means he is also listening to me. He is patiently waiting for HIS perfect timing to speak to me and not when I feel I need to hear it.

Sometimes what we “have to do” is take a step back and know that Christ is the Authority in our lives and that he knows when it’s the right time to reveal certain things. His timing is perfect. We cannot influence a move of God, nor can we force him to. If that were the case than it would be a matter of control on our behalf instead of a matter of grace on his.

So, instead of stressing that things aren’t going the way that we think they should and instead of being anxious about what the future holds for us, we should instead focus on who is holding our future and more than that our lives as a whole.

When thoughts about the future and feelings of stagnation are flooding our minds, sometimes the best thing we can do is take a step back from everything and remember Psalm chapter forty-six verse ten.

“He says, ‘be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm, 46:10).