Tonight, before heading over to a nearby coffee shop, I ate at an Asian place. I got a fortunate cookie along with the meal...
Earlier today I and a few co-authors of this blog were chatting about fear. Specifically with relationships. Ben already wrote about this, so I won't retread too much ground. But I'll add James 1:17 to the conversation. God is the Father of lights. He doesn't change.
A fair number of my fears are around making decisions without enough information. Should I stick around at an apartment, or at a church, for an extended period, or should I be somewhere else? In a relationship, am I learning quickly enough how to lay my life down for the other person, and am I seeking a relationship with the correct person such that all of that effort is worth it? Sifting through shifting shadows in search of the right path leads to fear because I can't possibly figure out the right path to take.
But there's hope. I have Someone else's understanding to lean on...I'm told not to put all my weight on mine (Proverbs 3:5). Someone who does have the whole picture in all dimensions spatial and temporal. He doesn't need to change because he never needs to react to new data.
But that could lead to paralysis by analysis, like the story of the Hurricane Katrina victim who stuck around on his roof, ignoring a boat and a helicopter, waiting for God to come and save him. That's why the verse says "lean not" rather than "use not" when talking about our own understanding. God gives us the autonomy to make decisions, informed by His Spirit, and wires us for community, so that He can communicate his plans for us in surround sound. Maybe that slip of paper inside a cookie wasn't quite right after all...
Does any of this change the fact that I've got mixed up priorities in life right now (work is a bit too high)? Does it make me immune to choosing the wrong fork in the road? No. My fear of long-term decisions comes from personal experience. But I have the Word, and as I lean on Him I might be walking rather than sprinting, but I won't fall flat.
James 1:17 instantly brought to mind Plato's Allegory of the Cave. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave
ReplyDeleteGod is the Father of Lights and brings us out of the cave. We have more than just shadows.
I am in the same boat as Ian. I am rapidly learning that there are so many unknowns from deviating from my current path, my current lifestyle, my current actions, my current job, you name it. I don't have enough information and feel like my ideals of how things should be are being violently bashed against my head. These things are not possible.
ReplyDeleteA little over a year and a half ago, I took a relatively bold step. Probably bolder than anything I've done since. That was to move to Austin, sign a nearly one-year lease on an apartment (which I just renewed for the second time) and separate myself distance-wise from the community that I had built while at college. Sure, my job wanted me in Austin, but my big reason for moving was the overwhelming feeling of "I'm not in college anymore; I need to do what it takes to convince myself that I've moved on."
ReplyDeleteI'd like to think that God had a big hand in that decision, because it's turned out pretty well so far, all things considered. But it was a big change, brought about by me realizing that the environment I was in no longer fit what I was supposed to be doing...and that the thing I was moving toward was such a better fit that I was willing to pick up and move to change gears.
I'll expand on this in a future post, but nothing has imbued me with that much impetus for change since. The big question over the next year for me will be, should something be doing that to me? If so, what is it, and how do I effect that change?
Maybe the impetus for change isn't there because God hasn't shown you where the change is needed. Perhaps He wants you to be still and wait, and He will illuminate your path at the proper time.
ReplyDelete