If Not Now, When?
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6
Did you know there is a national Quitter’s Day? It’s the second Friday of January because that is the day when most people have given up on their New Year’s resolutions. The diet is broken; the credit cards are maxed out; the garage still needs cleaned; etc.
I’m convinced that the reason so many of us break our resolutions is because of how we make them and pursue them. We come up with them on our own instead of through prayer—they are just wishes rather than convictions to follow as God leads. Then we pursue them with our own will power and in isolation rather than with prayerful reliance on God and in community.
And lastly, we see resolutions as an external habit to break or a goal to achieve instead of taking a step towards God’s desire for our lives. James Clear writes about that last point in his helpful book, “Atomic Habits.” He compares two smokers who are trying to quit and how they respond to someone who offers them a cigarette. The first says, “No thanks, I’m trying to quit.” This person still believes he is a smoker who is trying to be someone else. The second says, “No thanks, I’m not a smoker.” Clear writes, “Smoking was part of their former life, not their current one. They no longer identify as someone who smokes.”
As those who formerly walked in the ways of the world, we must remember our new identity in Christ and the shaping God is doing in our lives. Whether it be in our relationships, habits, or finances we are called to walk a different path.
Does it require a step of faith?
We know that without faith it is impossible to please God. What that looks like for me may be different than for you. Each of us will experience small and large decisions requiring us to live out our faith in unique ways.
For example, I have a friend who goes to a church that for the first time in its long history was trying to buy its own building. He felt led by God to participate in a big way, but was also conflicted.
You see, his dad took off when my friend was just five. Even though he’s a successful entrepreneur, having been raised by a single mom who never made more than $25,000 has often left him feeling like he’ll never have enough.
Still, the senior pastor’s vision stirred something in my friend, reaching deep into his heart. A contribution amount kept coming to mind that seemed crazy, completely beyond anything he had ever considered.
He was up most of the night before a commitment needed to be made, “wrestling with God.” On one side was the old familiar feeling of never having enough. On the other, he sensed God asking, “Are you really going to doubt that I’ll take care of you?”
As night turned to day, he decided to give the amount God had put on his heart. The amount was more than he had made in a year for most of his working life!
What is it for you?
Is your step of faith going back to school or quitting your job or some other step that would enable you to pursue the work you know you were meant to do? Is it about looking for a different job, maybe even one that pays less, so you can get off the road and be home more often for your family?
Will this be the year that you finally stop messing around with debt? That might mean something crazy, like moving to a less expensive home, or living a lifestyle more in synch with the truth of your situation, or telling someone about your debt—all of which probably puts a knot in your stomach.
What do you sense? What do you hear? What would you dare to write down? What would you be willing to trust God for?
When an angel told Zechariah that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would have a baby in their old age, Zechariah asked for some assurance that it was true. Because of his disbelief, he was temporarily made unable to speak.
When an angel told Mary that she would have a baby as well, even though she was a virgin, she, too, wondered how it would happen. But hers was not a question of disbelief; it was an innocent expression of awe: “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary responded. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”
As you pray and think about what God may have you pursue, pay attention to the scary ideas that come to mind. The ones that seem unreasonable or impossible. My prayer for you is that you’ll muster the courage to say by faith, “May it be.”
It’s okay if you can’t see the full path ahead. Just trust, submit to His leading, and take the next step. All that follows might just be the adventure of a lifetime!
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” – Bilbo Baggins, “The Lord of the Rings”