“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
I don’t know about you, but I’m a doer. If something needs to be done, I feel it should get done. If something needs to be figured out, it should be figured out. If an answer is needed, the answer should be found. If something needs to be fixed, it should be fixed. If there is a need, the need should be met. I’m a 100% Jewish Christ follower, and the Jewish people are known for being high achievers. My beloved Mom wouldn’t let my brother and I leave the dinner table each night until the separate To-Do lists she had for each family member had been addressed. To this day, she keeps endless lists, and works hard to cross stuff off her lists to make sure everything she believes needs to get done gets done. The American culture, and other cultures as well, are known for a mentality of accomplishing as much as possible as best as possible to be as successful as possible. I was raised in my family, and in this culture, to jump head first, and scramble around, and hurry through, and run around, and go as fast as possible, as diligently as possible, as tenaciously as possible, to figure out, figure out, figure out, fix, fix, fix, accomplish, accomplish, accomplish, succeed, succeed, succeed, and then hurry on to the next thing.
Imagine my surprise when the Lord by His Spirit through His Word and His Body began to teach me that His Kingdom is not built on and does not thrive off of fast-paced busyness for the sake of accomplishing as much as possible in the flesh to garner worldly success, but instead is built on faith in and a life devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ, and as such on learning to seek the face of the Lord, to hear His voice, and to follow Him however He leads, at whatever pace He leads, wherever He leads, to whomever He leads, for whatever purpose He leads, ultimately all not for worldly success but for His glory. And imagine my surprise when I came to find sometimes this involves seasons, and periods, of simply waiting, of patiently trusting Him, of simply sitting at His feet and spending time with Him, of studying His Word and seeking Him, of enjoying His fellowship and lordship, of believing He will speak when He desires and gives the instructions we need, and that truly loving God isn’t about five zillion to-do lists but instead is about loving Him with all our hearts and obeying Him as He Spirit leads us – even when that means doing absolutely nothing until He gives us wisdom and direction for the next step He desires we take, always placing relationship with Him above serving Him and serving Him out of love for Him.
One day, seeking Him, I made a comment to Him about how it seemed He wanted me to simply do nothing. It still seemed so very foreign to me. Shouldn’t I be rushing around trying to figure everything out and get everything done? After all, I faced some big challenges and needed some answers and direction. If I tried hard enough, and exerted myself enough, and pushed myself enough, and orchestrated everything well enough, I would find the answer and accomplish what needed to be done so I could get on with my life, right? Wrong!
“I want you to so trust me that you don’t do anything at all,” His Spirit spoke to my heart.
Is it not pride when we believe we’re the ones who have to find the answer, and have it, and is it not worry and doubt and fear and lack of trust in God when we push ourselves to the utmost to figure everything out instead of waiting on the Lord to lead us? Are we to provide for ourselves and others, or does God provide for us and through us? Do we have the answer, or does He? Do we need to trust in ourselves, or to trust in Him, in God, in the Lord?
When we really, truly trust God, should we not be able to sit still, to be in His presence, to trust Him to speak when He desires, and to wait for Him to lead us, and to choose by faith in love for Him to follow Him when He does?
I still have such a very long way to go. How about you?