Dig In, Reassess, Press Onward

I have a bad habit of trying to do things in my own strength, my own wisdom and my own understanding.  The problem is, my own strength, wisdom and understanding are not sufficient for God's purposes.   And besides that, God doesn't ask us nor expect us to do His kingdom work in our own strength or wisdom.  His kingdom work must be done with His kingdom resources.  Proverbs 3:7 says to not be "wise in our own eyes".  Then it goes on to say, "Instead, fear the Lord and shun [turn away, depart from] evil."   Instead of trying so hard to do things based on our own understanding, our own self-perceived wisdom, God tells us to fear Him and turn away from evil.  So when you hit a spiritual wall because you aren't sure what your next step should be, don't be like me and start freaking out, ramming your head into your prayer pillow trying to figure it all out.  Trust me, it accomplishes nothing except further frustration and the temptation to just throw your hands up and take a nap with the hope that once you wake up you'll have all the answers.  Which would be ultra fantastic, but ain't gonna happen.

We need wisdom, but not our own.  We can't serve God without it, so how do we get it?  God tells us over and over in His word:

-"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (Prov 9:10)

"-The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding." (Psalm 111:10)

-"And he said to the human race, 'The fear of the Lord--that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.'" (Job 28:28)

Wisdom is to acknowledge God as God, to honor God as God and to pattern our lives accordingly.  Scripture says, "in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." (Prov 3:6).  There used to be a popular bumper-sticker that said, "Jesus is my co-pilot."  To acknowledge God as God and to honor God as God, He cannot be our co-pilot, He has to be in the driver's seat.  If God is our co-pilot, then we have not submitted to Him in all our ways. If we have not submitted to Him in all our ways, then our path will not be strait.  Our path will lead us to ramming our head into our prayer pillow because we're trying to figure out which way to point the steering wheel.

So what do you do when you feel like you've hit a spiritual wall, wringing your hands in frustration because you know that there is something God wants you to do, but you're just not sure exactly what it is?  You dig in, you reassess, you press onward.  Dig in by acknowledging that God is in the driver's seat.  Reassess by letting go of the steering wheel and making sure that you are not holding back any area of your life from Jesus' Lordship.  Press onward by obedience to God's word and continuing to seek righteousness, no matter what the cost.  Seeking righteousness in the world today will come at great cost.  It will move you out of your comfort zone.  It is something that people are going to notice.  Scripture tells us to come out of the world, which means that we will necessarily not blend in with it.  1 Peter 2:9 says that we are a peculiar people, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.." 

Let us dig in, let us reassess, let us press onward.  Let us be God's peculiar people who have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light.  And in the meantime, do the last thing you clearly remember God telling you to do and do it with all your might until He tells you otherwise.