A family member once asked me to give them my five-year plan, and honestly, the question caught me off guard. Have you ever been in a situation where a bunch of thoughts and questions ran through your mind in a matter of seconds? That’s exactly what happened to me. I asked myself why they were asking me this question. I wondered what they thought of my life, and I felt like maybe I wasn’t measuring up to their standards. All of these things rushed to my mind almost instantly, along with thoughts of comparison and feelings of insignificance. But these thoughts were nothing new for me, they were a by-product of my decision to follow Christ.
When we choose to follow Christ, we will face a mental battle— a battle between our flesh and our spirit. A battle between what we can accomplish in our own strength, and what God can accomplish through us. And we will face a choice. Will we submit to our feelings, or will we submit our feelings to the will of God?
A long time ago, I decided that I would no longer live my life based on the standards of society. I decided that I would no longer live to please those around me, or live in an effort to project any particular appearance. Because I had done all of that before, and it brought me to a place of not knowing who I was. I looked at my life, and realized that all that I had done was in an effort to look accomplished, but on the inside, I knew that I was not on the path that God had for me. So, I made the decision to leave everything behind to follow Him.
This was the single most important decision of my life, and I have to say that it changed everything for me. Choosing to follow Christ healed me of anxiety and depression, it healed my broken family, and it gave me the ability to live a life of fulfillment and purpose. But at the same time, making this decision cost me a lot. You see, when I chose to walk in faith, I gave up the comfort of living life on my own terms. You know what I mean. There’s a comfort that comes with being able to make your own plan, and making decisions that are most preferable at any given time. But we can’t have it both ways. We can’t choose our own life, and follow Christ at the same time. Jesus told us this much.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. (Matthew 16:24-25 NLT)
Leaving your own plan and preference behind is a part of following Christ. But there is more. My choice began to affect my relationships, and conversations with those around me. I was not longer able to boast about my own ideas. I wasn’t able to present myself as this person that was well put together; I was no longer the girl with a promising plan. But what I realized is that I no longer have to be that girl. I no longer have to have it all figured out. That’s the beauty of walking by faith. Instead of trusting in my own faulty calculations, I can trust in the One that will never fail me. I can trust in the One that will never leave my side. This is where my confidence comes from. I don’t take confidence in anything else, because I have realized that things never really go as planned. We have no idea what will become of our lives. Only God knows these things.
Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil. (James 4:13-16 NLT)
Only God knows the plan.
All of our thoughts and ideas are great, but only God knows His complete will for our lives. He knows those things that will pan out, and those things that won’t. And only He knows what’s best for us. So, in all that we do plan, we must remain submitted to Him. We must allow Him to direct our steps.
The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. (Psalms 37:23 NLT)
You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. (Proverbs 19:21 NLT)
Only God knows His timing.
I have found that one of the hardest things about walking by faith is waiting on God. It’s holding firm to believing in His word, and not knowing when that word will manifest in my life. I know that I am not alone in this. But I also know that waiting on God is a crucial part of receiving His promises in our lives. Because, we can do nothing without Him. We can’t walk in His will without His favor. We can’t move mountains without His strength. And we can’t walk in purpose without His grace. He is the One that makes the difference.
God’s grace is the different between what we can do, and what He has called us to do.
Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. (2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT)
But in order for us to receive grace to do what God has called us to do, we have to walk in the pace that He sets for us. This is because we need His presence to go with us. We need His strength; we need Him to fight for us.
In the book of Exodus, we read about a conversation that Moses had with God. At this point, Moses is discussing with God his charge to lead the Israelites into the promised land. And he tells God that they will not go, without the presence of God going with them.
Then Moses said, “If you don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place. How will anyone know that you look favorably on me—on me and on your people—if you don’t go with us? For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.” (Exodus 33:15-16 NLT)
Moses understood the situation. Moses understood that they were seeking to do the impossible. He knew that there was no way that they would be able to defeat their enemies in their own strength. He was humble enough to recognize this fact. And he was smart enough to make the decision that he would not even try to enter the promised land, without the presence of God.
This is where we all need to be. We have to be able to recognize the fact that we can’t do this without God. We aren’t strong enough. We aren’t wise enough. We need Him. We can’t walk in the will of God without recognizing how much we need Him.
Humility invites the presence of God into the situation.
To understand this, we need to go back a little further in God’s conversation with Moses. You see, prior to this, Moses was on the mountain receiving instruction from God. But while he was gone, the Israelites grew impatient, so they made an idol and worshiped it.
The Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” (Exodus 32:7-8 NLT)
This angered God, so He decided that He would no longer travel among them to the promised land.
The Lord said to Moses, “Get going, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt. Go up to the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I told them, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ And I will send an angel before you to drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Go up to this land that flows with milk and honey. But I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn and rebellious people. If I did, I would surely destroy you along the way.” (Exodus 33:1-3 NLT)
When Moses told God that they wouldn’t go without his presence, it was because of what He said. God told Moses that He would not be with them, and this caused Moses to fear their journey. Because although God said he’d send an angel ahead of them, Moses decided that this wasn’t enough. He made the decision that they would not see the promised land unless God went with them. And this humility…invited the favor of God back into the situation.
The Lord replied to Moses, “I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name.” (Exodus 33:17 NLT)
If you know the rest of the story, you know that this generation of Israelites did not see the promised land. Why? Because of a lack of obedience.
Then the Lord said, “I will pardon them as you have requested. But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the Lord’s glory, not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice. They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it. (Numbers 14:20-23 NLT)
Not only do we have to be humble, but we must obey God’s instructions.
The Israelite’s lack of obedience cost them everything. Yes, God had given their ancestors a promise, but receiving the promise was up to them. They had to rely on God, and they had to obey the instructions that He gave them. We must take note of this in our lives. But there is more. God doesn’t just require that we obey his instructions, He requires that we walk according to his timing.
In the book of Joshua, we read about the generation of Israelites that had the honor of entering into the promised land. In chapter 5, we read that their leader, Joshua, was approached by the commander of the Lord’s army.
When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?” “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.” At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?” The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told. (Joshua 5:13-15 NLT)
Joshua and the Israelites had the presence of God with them, and His presence came with His favor. They had the army of God on their side. They did not have to fight for the promised land in their own strength. But they had to obey His instructions to receive the promise.
But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.” (Joshua 6:2-5 NLT)
God has set a pace for us to receive His promise.
We can see this in the Israelites story. God had given them a promise, and He told them that He had already given them the city of Jericho. But he also gave them a very specific set of instructions, and He gave them a very specific time in which they were to obey the instructions. He told them that once they obeyed his instructions, the walls of the town would collapse and the people would be able to take the town.
In this story, God’s grace was connected to their ability to follow his pace. The Israelites followed His instructions, they did so according to His timing, and then He fulfilled his end of the bargain.
When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it. (Joshua 6:20 NLT)
God fulfills his promise after we obey him.
Do you see it in the story? All of heaven’s army was on their side…the walls of Jericho collapsed, but only after they followed God instructions, according the pace that He set. What would have happened if they decided not to follow the instructions? I mean, who would have blamed them…the instructions sounded beyond crazy. They were seeking to defeat a town. Shouldn’t they have had a military plan? Shouldn’t they have had a strategy related to their mission? But they didn’t. They chose not to trust in their own wisdom. They chose not to trust in their own strength. And because of this decision, they were successful.
God’s instructions might not make sense, but they always produce results.
Maybe you are reading this. And you can see the importance of obeying God, but you’re on the fence about how important it is to obey His timing as well. To further explain this concept. I want to share another story with you, from the book of 1 Samuel. This story is about Israel’s first King, Saul. In the story, God gave Saul specific instructions. Through the prophet Samuel, God told Saul to wait for Samuel to give the burnt and peace offerings before going battle.
Some of them crossed the Jordan River and escaped into the land of Gad and Gilead. Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and his men were trembling with fear. Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn’t come. Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away. So he demanded, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!” And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself. (1 Samuel 13:7-9 NLT)
Saul disobeyed God’s instructions; He decided to give the burnt offering himself. But I want to point out a few facts from this story. The first fact I want to point out is that Saul recognized his need for God’s help. He knew that he needed the strength of God in order to be victorious. But I also want to point out the fact that Saul was fearful. Saul was afraid that Samuel would not arrive in time to give the offering. Saul feared that their enemies would overtake them, before Samuel arrived. So, I want to assert that Saul did not sin because he thought that he could be victorious without God, He sinned because He grew weary of waiting on God. Saul took matters into his own hands because he was too afraid to wait on the Lord’s timing. He thought that He could make things happen according to his own timing. And this mistake, cost him everything.
“How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” (1 Samuel 13:13-14 NLT)
The grace of God is released according to the pace that God sets.
This is what we must understand. Partial obedience is disobedience. We can’t just do as God says, we have to do what He says according to the pace that He sets for us. Because His grace is released according to the pace that He has already set. Just like in the case of the Israelites. God gave them the grace to defeat Jericho, at a specific time. What if they had grown weary of walking around in circles? What if they had decided to charge into the city prematurely? Do you think that they would have been victorious? Absolutely not. They wouldn’t have had the benefit of the Lord going before them. The walls would not have fell, and they would have been on their own. This is what happened to Saul. And this is what happens in our lives, when we grow weary of waiting on God, and we decide to make things happen for ourselves.
We must wait on God to deliver the promise into our hands.
When we do receive the promise, it will be because God has delivered it to us. It will be because He has gone before us, and knocked down every obstacle in our path. We must wait on Him. We must trust His timing and obey His instructions.
Maybe you are like me. Maybe you have a vision from God, but the instructions that He has given you don’t make sense. Maybe you are in a position where your decisions are being questioned by your loved ones. Maybe you have been look down on, or even mocked for walking in faith. If that’s you, I want to tell you that you have positioned yourself for a miracle. Imagine how crazy the Israelites looked as they walked around in circles. Did it look like they had a plan? Did they look strategic? Imagine what it felt like, as they walked each day…trusting the word of God. Do you think that they knew for sure that it would work out? Of course they didn’t…but that’s what faith is.
Faith isn’t certainty. Faith is trusting God amongst uncertainty.
Yes, it is hard. But I promise that it’s worth it. It’s worth every uncomfortable conversation. It’s worth not having a five year plan. Because honestly, your five year plan can’t take you to the place that God has for you…only he can do that. His plans for you are beyond anything that you can imagine…they are beyond anything that you could ever plan out for yourself. He has sent his favor ahead of you. He has graced you for the path that He has for you. The promise is already yours. You don’t have to bring it to pass. All you have to do is walk in the pace of his grace. Allow him to guide your steps, and obey his word. He will bring it to pass.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for the call that you have on my life. Thank you for rescuing me from the life that I planned for myself, and for giving me the opportunity to walk in the path that you have for me. I know that your plan is better than anything that I could ever imagine. And I know that the only way for me to receive your promise is by trusting you enough to obey your instructions, and by walking in the pace of grace that you have given me. I know that as I continue to follow you, you will go before me and knock down every obstacle in my way. Thank you for reminding me that I don’t have to bring your vision to pass. Because you are my God, and you will make sure that I receive everything that you have for me. I trust you Father. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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