Just Do It

I’m pretty sure you’ve been there.

To explain, there are times when you are 99.9% certain of what God wants you to do. . .you read it in a Bible verse during your devotions, a friend mentions it, and the sermon on Sunday was about it. Bazinga! In the educational world, we refer to that as “triangulation,” which basically means that you can assert validity based on the fact that you have seen it (whatever it is) in three different sources. Thus, God’s directive is clear, and all you need to do is walk between the rows of Munchkins and “follow the yellow brick road.”

And then. . .

There are the times (which, in my experience, feels like most of the time) when the path isn’t so clear, and there are no Munchkins to point you in the right direction. You may THINK you have heard God’s voice, but was it your own wishful thinking? A Bible verse may have led to a thought, but when you mention it to your Christian friends, they talk you out of it. A sermon may have convicted you, but when you try to follow through, all you meet is roadblocks. And all you think is, “Come on, God. Throw me a bone here. If this is what you want, then please don’t make it so difficult!”

Honestly, it’s not difficult. We just MAKE it difficult.

While our mouths tell God, “I am yours. Your Will be done in my life,” our hearts fight Him every step of the way. Due to our propensity toward selfishness, we struggle with relinquishing “control” of our lives (which is a fallacy anyway). As difficult as it is for me to say this (because it applies to me as well), we struggle with hearing God’s voice because we, ultimately, have not submitted 100% to Him.

Consider the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25 (which is where all this began today). The master distributes various talents to his servants for them to care for while he is gone. When he returns, he checks their progress. Everybody did well except for the dude who was in charge of one talent. “Master,” he said, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you” (v. 24-5).

While I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the best idea for the servant to “lip off” about his boss’s business habits, the servant’s actions seem prudent since he was “babysitting” the talent for his boss. He sounds pretty responsible so far. . .

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well, then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest” (v. 26-7).

“Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (v. 28-9).

What the world?! That seems so harsh in considering the fact that the servant didn’t do anything “wrong.” Sure, he didn’t make the talent multiply as the other two servants had done, but he didn’t lose the talent either. What’s going on? And what in the world does this have to do with hearing and obeying God’s Voice?

Even though I have read this passage numerous times, it finally dawned on me what is going on and why the master was so ticked off in this passage.

Remember the Sesame Street vignette, “One of These Things Is Not Like The Others”? Servant #3 sticks out like a sore thumb when you look carefully at the situation. To explain, Servant #3 was not really being a servant at all; he was not obedient, nor was he subservient in any way. First, he did nothing with the talent that had been given specifically to him. As a servant, his job is to WORK for the master. Secondly, he thought he knew better – both with regard to the talent and his boss. Third, he criticizes his boss, making assumptions about his boss. The passage does not indicate whether or not the servant’s accusations were true (the harvesting and gathering); however, we can clearly see what the SERVANT thought (true or not). Because the servant did not, in fact, have a servant’s heart or attitude, he quickly finds himself out of the house, out of a job, and out of sorts.

While this passage has always been associated with the natural gifts and talents that God gives each person (and rightfully so), it occurred to me that we can also interpret this passage in another way - how each person reacts to God’s Voice/directives.  

When you look at the Parable of Talents in terms of the Spirit’s nudges (God’s Voice/directives), the passage shifts in meaning, but the message is the same. We understand the gravity of the servant’s actions (or in this case, inaction) as well as God’s anger.

When the Spirit nudges, our job is to move, not question the Master. If we have truly submitted, we know that what He asks us to do is perfect, best, and good – even if it makes no sense to us at the time. We don’t want to be like Servant #3 and squander an opportunity. Like ripples on a pond when a stone is thrown, a simple act of obedience has far-reaching consequences for the Kingdom of God.

Likewise, when we pause, survey our friends, or create a pro/con list, we are like Servant #3 when made assumptions about his master. Given our human nature, we think it best to think (which, again, is not bad). Logic and reason separate us from all living creatures, making us superior to all other creatures. However, when we allow them to interfere with our relationship with God, we have a problem, and it’s called sin.

The point of the passage, however, is not to scare us into obedience. A fear of the Lord (as in awe and reverence) is good, but fear as a motivator does not reflect the character of God at all.

At the end of the day, we each have a choice to make. We need to quit whining, “God, what is Your Will for my life? Show me Your Will for my life.” In essence, that’s not a “bad” prayer or request; however, we are usually acting like Servant #3 when we have that attitude. It suggests that we want God to show us where to go, but we still want to be in control. How? Well, we ask for direction, but we still want to maintain the power to decide “yes” or “no,” to what extent, and under what conditions.

The whole point in BEING a servant is submission, relinquishing ourselves to God. When we fully submit to God, our will, dreams, fears, and ego then are a moot point. Thus, His Will IS our lives.  As Oswald Chambers states in My Utmost for His Highest, “Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do; He reveals to you Who He is.” We have to let go of ourselves in order for Him to do that. 

Someone far smarter than I has said it far better than I, so I leave you with this thought from Oswald Chambers:

“We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.

What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (Mark 6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.

God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.

God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.”