Devo 27
10/24/00
Wow, it's been a while, what's it been? A month? Close anyway. And let me assure you that every instant has been in the exhaustive research and collaboration of materials all in preparation for this devo. Didn't think you'd buy that--but I've have thought occasionally about what to write, and even tried a couple times, but nothing productive was coming. Anyway, that's then, this is now, so I'll put it behind me, and on with the show! (Hey! That rhymed! Hope you don't mind! OK, I'll get on with it now.)
(and take a bow! :) )
"Test and Approve"
Since it's been so long, and since this devo will talk a little about what I wrote last time, let me recap briefly. The main point of the last devo was to wait on God's timing in everything. Like David didn't kill Saul those two times he could of, we need to be careful not to let our own ambitions and desires for the future get in the way of what God has planned for us.
But even though this is what I wrote, and this is what I believe, I still have a problem with this idea of waiting. It's not the waiting that I mind so much, I've actually been called a pretty patient guy. My problem is this: where do I come in? I completely trust God for my future and His plans, but isn't there some point where I will have to take action? If so, when? For example, I believe that someday I will be married. Now, I trust that God has the woman already set aside for me, and when He's ready for us to be joined, we will be...but when do I do my part? As much as I'd like to think that someday I'll wake up and suddenly find that I'm married and that I didn't have to do a thing, I know that before that can happen, I will have to take some action myself--I mean, God's not going to propose to her for me. And if this action is left to me, how will I know?
I'm a big advocate for taking things as they come. In fact, in a strengths finder survey I recently took for work, it even said as much. Mostly this comes from my belief that God is in control of my future, and the less I'm involved in sculpting it, the better God can do to shape it the way He wants. Even though I think this is a healthy view of life--it has certainly gotten me through a lot with relatively little stress--I believe it can be taken too far. After all, like I mentioned above, there is some point in which I'll have to act. Before I could get the job at Back to the Bible, I had to send in my application and resume. They weren't going to pick a name at random from a phone book and say, "Let's hire him." Before I can become married, I'm going to have to actually propose to a woman--I used to swear to myself that I would never be able to do that, she would have to propose to me! I can believe with all my heart that this is the woman that God wants me with, but He's not going to propose for me, I have to take action myself.
So my question is, "Where does God end and I begin?" Where is the line between being too passive and being too proactive? I don't like being proactive, I feel pushy and arrogant. But I'm also don't like being too passive, I feel lazy and still arrogant. When do I make the decision that indeed, God is leading me here and I need to take action? When do I decide this isn't God's will and I should wait? I hate these questions; I have no clear-cut solution telling me when to act, and when to wait; when to be active, and when to be passive; when something is of God, and when it isn't.
The closest I've come to any real way of handling these questions in my day to day life is in the phrase, "No contrivances." Basically what this means to me is that I won't try to force any situation that I think I want. This doesn't mean I become totally passive, but it means I don't try to force any outcome that I think I'm being led toward. In April of '99 before graduation, I sent in a letter to Back to the Bible telling them I was interested in any job openings they might have. At their request I filled out an application and sent in a resume. But a couple of weeks later I got a letter saying that they weren't hiring just then, but thanks for your interest. I took this mean that God wasn't leading me to BttB. I could have, I suppose, gone down to the offices and ask that they look over my application again and reconsider, but that would be too much of a contrivance on my part. Later that year I decided that I would go back to school to get a master's degree in education. I needed some way to hold off the coming loan payments, and my pay at the restaurant wasn't cutting it. This so clearly seemed the way to go that I went as far as applying to grad school and even registering for classes, and was even getting excited for the coming semester. That was when Back to the Bible called saying they had a job for me. Suddenly all my plans changed; forget about school, this is a full-time job.
So what am I saying? Don't bother with future plans? We'll get there when we get there? No. I'm saying, have your plans, keep your dreams for what will come, but be ready should God have other plans. So where's the balance? When do I wait for God, and when do I go forth. Romans 12:2 says that after we have been transformed by the renewing of our mind, we will then be able to test and approve the will of God.
Test and approve. When a scientist has an idea about something, he will design an experiment to test whether or not this idea is correct; if the results don't add up, the idea is thrown out. The same concept applies in our lives. Do you think that some choice or action may be God's will? Test it. I had the idea that God was leading me to Grad school, so I applied and registered for classes, that was the test; is God leading me to be a teacher at this time?. When the scientist gets the results, he needs to be able to interpret them accurately. And the accuracy of his (or her) judgment will be based on how well he knows his subject area. A biologist lacks the proper experience required to make a judgment on the results of a physics experiment and vice versa. Even so, when we start making tests about what God is willing, we need to have the right knowledge to interpret the results and consequently pick the right course of action. That's what Paul means by being 'transformed by the renewing of your mind.' It means conforming to the likeness and pattern of Christ rather than that of the world. And when we have immersed ourselves in Christ and His ways, then will we have the ability to not only test what it is God is willing, but also to approve what it is He chooses, or rather, to see the course that God approves. For me, it was pretty clear that instead of Grad school, God had a better place for me at BttB.
Do you think God is leading you to a certain course of action? Test it. But always be careful to daily spend time getting to know God in your quiet time. Study His word, see what He has to say about life and how it should be lived. Only then will be able to accurately see what God is willing. It takes action on our part, but it ultimately will depend on our trust of God's leading, and trust comes through knowledge. I guarantee that if we take the time to really get to know the God of the Bible and his uncompromising love for us, it will be increasingly easier to let Him have control of our lives.