And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Matthew 22:37 (ESV)
Life is full of ups and downs. Some describe life as a wheel; sometimes we are up, sometimes down, and sometimes in the middle. As time passes, it is easy to get disoriented, out of focus, or even derailed from our journey. So many things are clamouring for our attention, focus, and priorities. As we try to follow Jesus daily, we sometimes lose track of who we are pleasing. We all want to know and follow the Lord’s will, but at times, we or others get in the way.
Sometimes we are unsure which direction to take. It is difficult to follow God when we do not understand everything.
Going through times of uncertainty
We all go through times of uncertainty. What is happening? What is God’s will in my situation? As we seek answers, we sometimes consider different perspectives on how to handle our situation. We also think about how the circumstances will affect me and others. There is a strong desire to understand everything happening in our lives, but God does not reveal all to us.
Life is like a play. We ask God to be our director, choreographer, and everything else when we follow Jesus. What is our role? We are actors in the play. We must follow our Director’s instructions on what to do and how to act. We have no script provided beforehand, but God gives the script as the play unfolds.
As the play continues, we may become distracted by the audience, who will react in various ways. The audience represents ourselves and the different people around us. They can clap or even shout in disapproval of how we act. But we should remember one thing: we are performing this life drama with an audience of One, who is our Director: God.
The biggest obstacle in our acting is ourselves. Our thinking often contradicts what our Director wants. We believe we know better and deviate from the script. Since the script unfolds as the play progresses, we sometimes make assumptions about the next steps and act independently. After a while, we realise we are heading in the wrong direction, and we stop to try to realign with our Director’s vision. Occasionally, our pride interferes – we focus on how things should be done, rather than what God desires. We assume we understand our Director’s intentions well enough to stray from the script, only to discover later that we were mistaken and far off the correct path. Then, we must repent and consult the Director about the direction of our play.
Holy humility requires us not to be presumptuous about anything, even if we have been following the Lord for a long time. We do not know God’s mind. At critical moments in our lives, we need to sit before our Master and wait for His will and direction rather than presume anything and find out if it is right.
Facing uncertainty with trust in God
The Bible shows many instances of people being led into uncertain situations, which later led to a greater good. The Old Testament Joseph is an example. He was led into various trials and hardships, but God had a greater plan for Joseph, which he did not know initially. He was rejected by his brothers and sold as a slave. He was accused of adultery even though he was innocent. He had to wait three years until His dream was delivered to Pharaoh. Ultimately, He became Egypt’s ruler and saved his family.
If Joseph had rebelled against God at any point in his life, things would have been different for his family. He could have given up when he was in prison waiting for his dream to be heard by the Pharaoh, but he persevered. His story is a powerful testimony of deep faith, trust in God, perseverance, forgiveness, and patience, ultimately leading to victory. He was the perfect actor in his play. Most of us are not like Joseph. We often go off script. But by God’s mercy and grace, we can undo our mistakes, repent, and return to the script God has for us.
The most valuable thing about Joseph was his deep relationship with God, which made him strong even if he did not understand what was happening.
Who do we please first and foremost?
We have an audience of One. We tend to forget that fact. We listen to our own and others’ voices, and forget that we only have One person to please: God. He is the only One who matters, regardless of what others say. May we be faithful in listening and pleasing to that Single audience of our lives.
Top image credit: Man pondering the day as he watches a sunset, Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash.com. Free to use under the Unsplash License.
Tom Caballes was a National Coordinator of the Lamb of God, a community of the Sword of the Spirit with seven branches located throughout New Zealand. Tom lived with his wife Mhel and their two daughters [with his son-in-law and grand-daughter] in Wellington, New Zealand.