What are we going to DO???
That used to be the question my kids asked me when they were bored. And I’d always respond: “Only boring people get bored.”
But now that I’m experiencing a new reality, one in which I can’t spend time with my friends, hang out in coffee shops, eat in restaurants, or do a group fitness class at my gym, I have to admit: I get it.
There’s only so many “art projects” and “cooking classes” a person can do with their kids before that question becomes the one I’m asking myself.
I keep reading all these articles about things we can do to combat our boredom. But one thing I don’t hear anyone talking about is this:
What does God want us to do?
The temptation is to ask for clarity. We do it when we have to make a choice amongst a variety of good options, we do it when we’re faced with situations that are novel or new, and we also do it when we’re in the midst of a crisis.
Today, my prayer might go, “Lord, please give me clarity about how best to parent my kids today.”
I read somewhere that clarity is the crutch of the Christian. We pray, beg, and plead for clarity, and if we don’t get it, we think that means God didn’t answer our prayer.
But Mother Teresa said, “I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you will trust God.”
What TRUST looks like in real life:
God wants you to be Observant:
Look around!
When you pay attention to what God is doing in the world around you, you become more aware of what he is doing in you. And maybe that’s the point: not that the world will change, but that you will.
God wants you to be Expectant:
Wait for it!
When you live with hopeful expectation, you realize that even when God is silent, he is not absent. Right now, perhaps your future looks hopeless or scary. Rest assured that God loves you, and is always inviting you to interact with the larger story that is happening in the world.
God wants you to be Available:
Raise your hand!
When you shift your perspective from a “need to know” mentality you realize that the “get to experience” life is the more adventurous way to to understand God. Remember when Moses encountered the burning bush?
“When the Lord saw that he had gover to look, God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’ And Moses said, ‘Here I am.’” Exodus 3:4
And Moses received the assignment of a lifetime.
God wants you to be Objective:
Share your experience!
Your experience will be reflective of your thoughts, not your circumstances. Circumstances are always neutral; you get to decide the story you want to tell.
God wants you to be Obedient:
Do the thing!
When you figure out who you are, you will know what you’re supposed to do. You are a child of God, and as his child, you have been gifted with extraordinary confidence. That means you get to be a “wow” person, not a “how” person. Instead of asking “How can I do this?” you get to proclaim to the world: “Wow! I can do this!” The difference is faith in action.
Over the last couple of months, I have been doing a Bible study called Experiencing God with some friends in my neighborhood. The content feels relevant to me now, more than ever. If you have a specific problem you’re trying to work through or you simply want to understand more about God so that you can hear him more clearly in your own life, I heartily recommend this study:
“If you’re sensitive to what God is doing around you, He will clearly speak to you through His activity. You’ll know that God is at work, because what you see will astound you, and human power and wisdom will not explain it. When you experience events that surpass your understanding and ability, it may be that God is communicating a critical message to you.”
Living through a global pandemic means I won’t be breaking out of this self-imposed quarantine anytime soon. When it’s over, I don’t want to have any regret over how I used this unprecedented gift of time. No regrets, no waste.
And I’m not asking for clarity; I’m counting on trust.
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