I recently heard a song that says, “I will speak to my fear, I will preach to my doubt, that You were faithful then, You’ll be faithful now.”
The first time I heard it, I remember it hitting me that we usually don’t do this. When we have doubts about God or fears that creep in that maybe He’s not in control or doesn’t have our best interest in mind, we typically pull away from God. We start to question who He is or why He’s not following our blueprint for how our situation should play out.
Do we ever stop to think that our “failings” may be part of the plan all along?
Jesus Wasn’t A Back-Up Plan
I had this thought as I was reading my devotional a few weeks ago…Jesus was not a back-up plan.
Just think about that for a minute.
I don’t know about you, but from my childhood, I guess I’ve always just looked at the gospel, or even been taught that Adam and Eve lived in a perfect place and when they chose to eat the forbidden fruit, they messed up the plan. Everything would’ve continued on in beautiful bliss, had God not needed to step in and create a back-up plan. After all, Jesus would’ve never had to die on the cross for our sins if we never committed them in the first place, right?
But Jesus wasn’t a back-up plan. He WAS the plan.
After all, God is all-knowing, and He knew Adam and Eve weren’t going to listen. He knew humanity would fall. He knew how His perfect Son would be the only Savior.
When we think of God in this reactive way, we’re basically saying that God must be making it up as He goes. Like course-correcting our lives when we don’t quite follow the path we’re supposed to.
But He not only knows the path, He’s the one who wrote it. So, if we truly believe that God is in control and that He has a perfect plan for our lives, then we have to trust that the course of action that our lives take must be a part of this plan.
So Why Can’t We Just Trust the Plan?
This is the big question, isn’t it?
This is where I think our faith is tested, not just once, but many times, every day.
This is where we have to CHOOSE to trust in His perfect plan and trust God’s direction beyond our understanding.
Even when we feel like He’s calling us to something specific. We may have an idea of how we think it will take place but we could be completely wrong in our approach. He may give us a glimpse of the end result but getting there may be a path we never would’ve chosen for ourselves.
We let our doubt, our fears, our insecurities, and our lack of confidence or ability get in the way and we hesitate. We stall. I don’t know about you, but I can get so in my head about the things I’ve felt God tell me to do. I can overthink like none other when it comes to questioning the “right” path to take. But God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
All He really wants is obedience.
That’s it. It’s honestly the simplest thing when you really think about it. He said do it, so do it.
So WHY do we have to overcomplicate it so much?! If we need baby steps, do we really think that God doesn’t know that? If we need additional skills or understanding before completing His tasks, do we not think He won’t provide them and lead us through them?
Learn to Go With the Flow
I am the WORST when it comes to being flexible. I can be so content with the most rigid routine and thrive on checking my boxes off daily but when it comes to giving up control of my to do list? Please, I’d rather die.
Ok, that may have been a bit dramatic, but I seriously think that’s how many of us view our day. Even if you aren’t a to-do list person, we each wake up with an expectation of how the day will go and at least a few things we’d like to get done.
What if we woke up and just said, “Ok, God, this day is Yours. Tell me what to do and I will do it.”
And what if we didn’t accomplish anything that we wanted to, but we had such an unexpected day filled with His work. Maybe He pointed you to a friend who is going through a hard time or prompted you to bless another with a small kind gesture. Whatever the tasks were, they lit you up and you could lay down at night feeling His fulfillment like you haven’t in a long time.
Would it be worth it?
I mean isn’t that why we’re really here after all? To live out HIS purpose, not our to-do list.
So How Do We Do This?
I think it’s really quite simple:
1) We spend time with Him and get to know His voice.
We have to spend time with Him regularly. Preferably daily, or even multiple times a day. We have to get to know His voice so that we can know when He is prompting us. So often our lives are filled with so much noise and chaos that we can’t even hear His still, small voice, even when He is speaking to us. We have to cut out the noise and get to know His character, His goals, His way of doing things, so that when we hear His voice, we know it’s Him.
Have you ever heard something about a friend and thought, “That doesn’t sound like them. I know my friend and they would never do that.” That’s how we should be with God. We should know His voice so closely that we instinctively know when He’s prompting or when its our own thoughts or fleshly desires.
2) We open our hands and unclench our own plans and dreams and thoughts of our lives should go.
As humans, we have this tendency to hold so tightly the things we hold most dear. I’ve said this before but I really have a hard time surrendering my family to God. I love them so much that I don’t like the idea of not being in control. But honestly, who is better equipped to protect them? Me in my little bubble of a life with limited resources, or the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE who literally knit together every atom in their bodies? Silly, right?
But it really does take daily surrender and moment-by-moment unclenching to really let God have control in your life. I know it’s not easy, but it is necessary to allow Him to complete His perfect work in you.
3) We ask Him for every step along the way.
I said this earlier, “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.” God has a long history of using unqualified people to do miraculous things. They weren’t anyone special, but they were willing. That’s all God requires: a willing heart. Someone who is willing to give it up for God, whatever the “it” may be in your life.
We have to ask Him for help. We are imperfect beings and we literally cannot do it on our own.
But guess what? He knows that! He knew it all along! He knew if He called you for something that you would have doubts. He knew you would struggle to see the big picture. Maybe that’s why He’s only giving you little snippets, or even leaving you in the dark. Maybe He knows you wouldn’t go if you saw what you would have to go through to get there.
But is His timing and His path the best one? Absolutely.
So take the leap. Trust God to guide you and seek Him daily. Ask Him to help you through your doubts and your unbelief and lead you with baby steps. And just maybe we can all get a glimpse of the incredible life He’s calling us to.
