Have you ever been paralyzed by indecision? I for sure have. I think as a recovering perfectionist sometimes it is difficult to pick a path. What if I pick the “wrong” path and then realize I have made a mistake and need to back track? I think the answer God might give us sometimes is… so what if you do pick the “wrong” path? In the “wrong” path did you learn something? I am not talking necessarily about a willingly sinful path, but one that you are not sure is the right move or not. I think that is sometimes where we as Chrisitians get tied up. God called us to Holiness not perfection. You know who was consumed with perfectionism? Pharisees. These were the religious leaders of Jesus’ day that Jesus constantly confronted. The Pharisees were consumed with religion and law. Jesus called them white washed tombs. They had the appearance of Holiness but had and gave no life to the people around them. They cared more about doing what they had determined was the right thing according to the law than caring for the people they were supposed to be serving. Jesus refused to be intimidated by them. He consistently healed on the Sabbath often right in front of the Pharisees because He had more compassion for the hurting people in front of Him than the law the Pharisees were insisting He follow.
Unfortunately, the spirit of Pharisee does still exist. It is dressed up as perfectionism or a religious spirit. I believe God has called us to worship Him not religion. Reading God’s word is important and having that word shape our mind and spirits is extremely important. But why? So we can use the Word to hit other people or ourselves over the head with it? No. It is so that we can have a deeper understanding of who God is, and in that understanding of God’s word hopefully we can be shaped to be more like Him. Isn’t that the ultimate goal, anyway? To be more like God? Prayer is also very important. Not so we can pray and ask God to change all those around us, in order to be more comfortable. Prayer is a way for God to remind us of our identity in Him, so that we may pray for others with His heart in mind for those people. Tithing and giving is also an important practice. Again it is not as the Pharisees did it so that people understand how amazing we are that we give of ourselves. It is us saying to God with a humble heart that all of what we have belongs to Him anyway, and it allows us to position our heart for God to give us more. That more God wants to bless us with helps position us to make a difference in our community.
Friend, God often wants to talk to us and tell us His heart more than we understand. When I feel stuck, I have two places in the Bible that often come to me. One is in I Chronicles. David had been anointed King of Israel but was not recognized as King yet. In fact, David was running from Saul, the current recognized king of Israel. Saul was consumed with jealousy over David and wanted to kill David. David also felt many betrayals by people he thought were with him. So if you picture this, David is God’s anointed king. Samuel, the prophet of God, had anointed David as king of Israel. David had killed Goliath, the enemy of the Israelites that no one else was willing to deal with. However, Saul is not letting go of his throne, so David is on the run with strict orders from God not to touch Saul until God deals with Saul. Now, I think if I was David, I may have looked at Samuel and thought maybe you are a false prophet. God has anointed me king but a path to that throne has not easily appeared. In fact, the person who is king has taken this very personally and is trying to kill me. This is anything but majestic. But David is learning to trust God in the process as well. After Saul is wounded in a battle by the Philistines, he decides to take matters into his own hands and falls on his own sword. After Saul’s death, an army begins to form around David. In Chronicles 12:32, the Bible references some of the men that came to David as the sons of Issachar, “who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” The Bible does not go into detail about these men, but the king of Israel, Saul, had just died. The enemies of the Israelites are still after them. These men, the sons of Issachar, had an understanding of the times AND knew what to do. Did you know you can ask God to be like the sons of Issachar? One of my prayers often is, Lord help me to understand the time and season I am living in, and please show me what to do.
The other scripture I often go to is Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV) “Call to Me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” I love this invitation from the Lord. He recognizes that sometimes we can only see the problem in front of our faces. Sometimes the problem is heavy and seems insurmountable. But God invites us to call to Him. He is saying I have the answers. I understand and can see the things you cannot. Call to Me because I have the answers you are looking for. What an amazing promise from God. He has wisdom and is ready and willing to give for those that ask. Psalm 91:15 (NKJV) also says, “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.’ The Passion Translation states it this way, “I will answer your cry for help every time you pray, and you will feel my presence in your time of trouble. I will deliver you and bring you honor.”
The Lord is saying call to me, ask me, seek me, pray and I will show you things. I will help you. I will deliver you. God is wanting us to act first by calling out to Him. Why? I think because it activates our faith. Us stepping out and saying, God please help me be like the sons of Isaachar where we can discern the times and know what to do. Or saying to the Lord, I need an answer, is us showing faith. That faith positions our heart to receive from God what He wants to show us or give us during that time.
Remember friend, God is always for us, never against us. He loves you more than you can understand. He has positioned you for such a time as this and He will never leave you or forsake you. If you are feeling stuck or overwhelmed, I encourage you to call out to Him. Ask Him for perspective in your situation. He promises He will be faithful to answer.