Walk, Don’t Run

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.
–Lamentations 3:25

I am sure you are familiar with Murphy’s Law: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” But have you heard Murphy’s Law of Toast? It says, “The odds of a piece of toast with jelly on it falling on carpet right side up are inversely proportionate to the value of the carpet.”

If Murphy had anything to say about spiritual issues, I think one of his axioms would be this: “Running ahead of God always leads to bad decisions and painful consequences.”

Maybe you are a single adult, and you feel like God wants you to marry. Do you try to force the issue, or do you wait on God’s timing? Or maybe you are purchasing a home, and you feel like God has led you to make an offer on a property. You make that offer, and the seller does not respond. Do you wait, or do you move forward?

Abraham faced a similar situation in Genesis 16. Verse 1 says, “Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children.” God had promised that Abraham was going to be the father of a great nation, but Abraham’s situation did not correspond to God’s promise. Anytime our life situation does not correspond to what we believe is God’s promise, we face a decision point: we can either wait on God to fulfill His promise, or we can take matters into our own hands.

How do you keep from running ahead of God? How do you know when it is time to move forward in whatever you believe God is leading you to do? First of all, remember that God is never going to have you do something that violates a specific command in His Word.

Second, God uses wise counsel to tell us when it is time to move forward. Proverbs 11:14 says, “In abundance of counselors there is victory.” Ask the spiritual authority in your life, “What do you think about this?” In addition, seek out the wise counsel of experts. If you have a question about purchasing a home, go to a gifted real estate agent. If you are thinking about building something, go to a contractor. That is being a good steward of the resources God has given you.

Third, God says “go” through outward confirmations. Now, I do not believe signs and circumstances are always the best way to know God’s will. However, it has been my experience that when God is leading you in a particular way, He will usually give you a sign to affirm what you are doing. That is how you can know you are walking with God and not running ahead.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Walk, Don’t Run” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2009.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org