God calls you to do something. Through prayer. Through scripture. Through the words of other believers. Through the Holy Spirit inside you. You sense His calling. His direction. You know what He wants you to do.
So you make a plan. You write goals. You set forth with purpose and passion. You pray something like, “Lord, if this is your will, please open the doors. Work out the details. Make this thing go smoothly.”
And you’re off.
Excited. Expectant. Maybe a little nervous.
So what happens when you hit a snag?
Never mind the snag. What happens when you hit a giant roadblock?
I just finished this life-changing book called Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. There’s a whole chapter devoted to circumstances and how we often let them dictate our decisions.
We hit that snag or that roadblock and we too quickly conclude that something got lost in translation. Maybe God didn’t want us to do this thing after all. Maybe He’s shutting the door.
But wait a minute.
What about Moses?
God tells him to ask Pharaoh to let his people go. So Moses does. And what happens? Pharaoh refuses, gets angry, and makes things worse for the Israelites. What would have happened if Moses would have assumed he misunderstood God? What if Moses would have turned back? Given up?
He would have missed out on leading the Israelites to freedom. He would have missed out on experiencing God’s deliverance in a huge, miraculous, mind-blowing way.
Here’s the thing.
Sometimes, our current circumstances stink. And oftentimes, we’re all too quick to turn and run. Claw our way out. By our own strength and our own will.
But maybe, God doesn’t want us to.
Maybe, we’re right where we’re supposed to be.
Maybe, in the midst of the hardship and the confusion and the unmet expectations, God wants to show us something we wouldn’t see otherwise.
Maybe, in those weak helpless places, God’s strength is made perfect. And we see, along with a watching world, that He’s still God. And He’s still powerful.
Let’s Talk: How much of an influence do your circumstances have over your choices? When something goes wrong or something gets tough, do you assume you’re off course? Or do you sit still and seek God’s guidance?
*Photo by Jacqueline ter Haar on Flickr