Directionally Challenged
Directionally Challenged
A few days ago my youngest daughter wanted to go play in the front yard. So, like every perfect father would do on a sweltering July afternoon, I went outside with a smile on my face, joy in my heart, and covered in sweat. Okay, only the last part is true… I was covered in sweat and I didn’t have a smile or joy.
The truth is, I really didn’t want to go out in the front yard. I wanted her to go play in the back yard by herself so that I could get a workout in real quick before dinner. I didn’t get what I wanted (she did), but I got something I needed.
She played with this and then played with that - then she wanted to ride her bike. Now, when I say ride her bike what she really wanted was for me to push her around while she sorta pedals. It was much closer to piddling than pedaling. It’s interesting what a difference in perspective will bring, isn’t it? What I saw as piddling she saw as pedaling.
Then, quickly after, a short, cute, and powerful conversation took place. I said, “Ada, I’m doing all the work for you.” She quickly said, “Yeah, because you’re my dad and I need help.” And while this was cute, true, and a dagger to my heart, it’s not exactly the best thing for her. Me doing all the work of pushing her as she rides her bike doesn’t really help her develop the skills she needs to do it on her own. It’s interesting that she wanted to do all the steering while I did all the pushing. She wanted to be in control of the direction, but wanted me to do all the exertion.
She also has a tendency of keeping her eyes on her feet and not on where she’s going. Being in control of steering and direction is great, but if you drop your attention you just might end up in the ditch with frustration. And no I didn’t let her go into the ditch of frustration. All direction with little to no attention will certainly bring frustration.
This real life example is such a perfect analogy, to me, of how God walks along this path of life with us. Sometimes we’re looking at our feet. Sometimes we just want the exertion so we can have the direction. Sometimes we lack the necessary attention. Sometimes we want to take it all, do it ourselves, and just let God sit back and be proud of us. Which, by the way, He always is. He can be amazingly proud of you while still disagreeing with your directional choice.
And yet still, sometimes I think we can become more focused on speed than we are direction. Even if we don’t know where we are going, we wanna get there fast. Or at least faster. Why wait on God when He’s clearly taking too long?… The problem with that is, when you turn around to see where He is, you’re probably running right into that ditch. And direction has turned into frustration.
They say it’s easier to pull something than to push it, but I think sometimes God is pushing us ever so slightly in the direction that we need to go. Whether you’re riding a bike or driving a car, the purpose of the analogy remains the same. The best way to get it right is to focus and listen for the directives that He gives.
If you expect God to do all the work, you’re gonna stay disappointed. Part of learning and growing is developing the spiritual muscle needed to continue. And the way we do that is through pedaling our part. Hills and troughs are a part of life. We need a little help sometimes getting up the hills, but we also need to use the breaks sometimes when we’re headed downhill too fast. Sometimes too much speed will get us too far out in front of where He is.
The direction is in the directive. God’s direction can be found in His directives. If you can’t take the direction, you might miss the destination. And destination doesn’t always have to mean heaven. It could be a stopping point on this beautiful scenic road of life where He just wants to park and sit with you to rest a minute and experience the beauty of the scenery.
So maybe you’re comfortable with where you and God are in the labor division of this analogy. Maybe you’ve got the right speed, the right steering, going the right way, and everything is lining up. Maybe you’re listening for the next directive on where to go or turn, but it’s just not coming. Maybe you start thinking He has stopped speaking to you or telling you where to go… which direction or road to take. If you do, He may be waiting on you to complete the last directive He gave you. Or… He’s simply giving you options to exercise your free will with the knowledge that He will be with you whatever you choose and wherever you go.
I think a lot of times He’s direct with His direction, and other times He gives you options because He’s promised to be with you wherever you choose to go. As long as it lines up with His word. For example, should you start a business and work for yourself? Or should you work at a business and work for someone else? The answer may be yes. Whichever you choose, He promised His presence.
The promise of “I will be with you” comes with the responsibility of where you are leading God. Which is something interesting to think about. God isn’t going to force you to obey or to follow where He is gently pushing you to go, but in spite of that, He promises to be with you wherever you go. King David writes about it this way in Psalm 139, “If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me…”
What a beautiful way to articulate that His promise to follow us still requires our responsibility to lead. “If I go” and “if I make” are examples of this. And sometimes God makes His directives obvious. If you could ask Jonah and his great fish, he’d probably tell you. And sometimes He makes His directives subtle, like a still small voice or a gentle whisper. Just ask Elijah.
If God wants to yell He’s got a big outside voice. But He just might prefer the gentle whisper to make you lean in, focus, and pay attention. Why? Maybe because it’s that kind of subtlety that both maintains and develops deeper intimacy.
God is a relational God. He wants relationship with us. He wants intimacy with us. He doesn’t want us too far ahead or behind. He wants us right there with Him because that is the perfect place to be. And when we are, we will always arrive perfectly safe and on time because God is never late or early. He’s always right on time.
A few days ago my youngest daughter wanted to go play in the front yard. So, like every perfect father would do on a sweltering July afternoon, I went outside with a smile on my face, joy in my heart, and covered in sweat. Okay, only the last part is true… I was covered in sweat and I didn’t have a smile or joy.
The truth is, I really didn’t want to go out in the front yard. I wanted her to go play in the back yard by herself so that I could get a workout in real quick before dinner. I didn’t get what I wanted (she did), but I got something I needed.
She played with this and then played with that - then she wanted to ride her bike. Now, when I say ride her bike what she really wanted was for me to push her around while she sorta pedals. It was much closer to piddling than pedaling. It’s interesting what a difference in perspective will bring, isn’t it? What I saw as piddling she saw as pedaling.
Then, quickly after, a short, cute, and powerful conversation took place. I said, “Ada, I’m doing all the work for you.” She quickly said, “Yeah, because you’re my dad and I need help.” And while this was cute, true, and a dagger to my heart, it’s not exactly the best thing for her. Me doing all the work of pushing her as she rides her bike doesn’t really help her develop the skills she needs to do it on her own. It’s interesting that she wanted to do all the steering while I did all the pushing. She wanted to be in control of the direction, but wanted me to do all the exertion.
She also has a tendency of keeping her eyes on her feet and not on where she’s going. Being in control of steering and direction is great, but if you drop your attention you just might end up in the ditch with frustration. And no I didn’t let her go into the ditch of frustration. All direction with little to no attention will certainly bring frustration.
This real life example is such a perfect analogy, to me, of how God walks along this path of life with us. Sometimes we’re looking at our feet. Sometimes we just want the exertion so we can have the direction. Sometimes we lack the necessary attention. Sometimes we want to take it all, do it ourselves, and just let God sit back and be proud of us. Which, by the way, He always is. He can be amazingly proud of you while still disagreeing with your directional choice.
And yet still, sometimes I think we can become more focused on speed than we are direction. Even if we don’t know where we are going, we wanna get there fast. Or at least faster. Why wait on God when He’s clearly taking too long?… The problem with that is, when you turn around to see where He is, you’re probably running right into that ditch. And direction has turned into frustration.
They say it’s easier to pull something than to push it, but I think sometimes God is pushing us ever so slightly in the direction that we need to go. Whether you’re riding a bike or driving a car, the purpose of the analogy remains the same. The best way to get it right is to focus and listen for the directives that He gives.
If you expect God to do all the work, you’re gonna stay disappointed. Part of learning and growing is developing the spiritual muscle needed to continue. And the way we do that is through pedaling our part. Hills and troughs are a part of life. We need a little help sometimes getting up the hills, but we also need to use the breaks sometimes when we’re headed downhill too fast. Sometimes too much speed will get us too far out in front of where He is.
The direction is in the directive. God’s direction can be found in His directives. If you can’t take the direction, you might miss the destination. And destination doesn’t always have to mean heaven. It could be a stopping point on this beautiful scenic road of life where He just wants to park and sit with you to rest a minute and experience the beauty of the scenery.
So maybe you’re comfortable with where you and God are in the labor division of this analogy. Maybe you’ve got the right speed, the right steering, going the right way, and everything is lining up. Maybe you’re listening for the next directive on where to go or turn, but it’s just not coming. Maybe you start thinking He has stopped speaking to you or telling you where to go… which direction or road to take. If you do, He may be waiting on you to complete the last directive He gave you. Or… He’s simply giving you options to exercise your free will with the knowledge that He will be with you whatever you choose and wherever you go.
I think a lot of times He’s direct with His direction, and other times He gives you options because He’s promised to be with you wherever you choose to go. As long as it lines up with His word. For example, should you start a business and work for yourself? Or should you work at a business and work for someone else? The answer may be yes. Whichever you choose, He promised His presence.
The promise of “I will be with you” comes with the responsibility of where you are leading God. Which is something interesting to think about. God isn’t going to force you to obey or to follow where He is gently pushing you to go, but in spite of that, He promises to be with you wherever you go. King David writes about it this way in Psalm 139, “If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me…”
What a beautiful way to articulate that His promise to follow us still requires our responsibility to lead. “If I go” and “if I make” are examples of this. And sometimes God makes His directives obvious. If you could ask Jonah and his great fish, he’d probably tell you. And sometimes He makes His directives subtle, like a still small voice or a gentle whisper. Just ask Elijah.
If God wants to yell He’s got a big outside voice. But He just might prefer the gentle whisper to make you lean in, focus, and pay attention. Why? Maybe because it’s that kind of subtlety that both maintains and develops deeper intimacy.
God is a relational God. He wants relationship with us. He wants intimacy with us. He doesn’t want us too far ahead or behind. He wants us right there with Him because that is the perfect place to be. And when we are, we will always arrive perfectly safe and on time because God is never late or early. He’s always right on time.
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