Joy in listening for the next thing…

 

Years ago a friend and I attended a women’s conference featuring a well-known Christian missionary and author as the main speaker. At lunchtime, I suggested to my friend that we sit at an empty table and see who joined us. Long story short, that speaker sat at our table.

During lively conversation, someone asked her how she managed to get so much done in her busy life. She replied, “I just do the next thing — and I alway know what it is.”

This response told me that she also listened to the Holy Spirit for His instruction. From personal experience, I know that my old nature is not always that clear about what to do next. I can be easily confused or distracted, but when the Spirit is in charge, then her words made complete sense.

Today’s reading agrees. It says my part is simple; all I need to do is trust the Lord and follow what He says. He decides my day — when I wake up, the interruptions and interaction with others, who calls, and so on. I don’t have to plan.

However, this is not 100% for there are times when the “next thing” is planning. This move is one example. With so many boxes to unpack and decisions to make about what to keep and what to pass along, we didn’t sleep well. Too much on our minds. The Spirit gave me a solution: every night, write a plan for the next day, including regular activities such as worship, devotions and prayer, exercise, and even a menu for supper. It works. I know tomorrow before my head hits the pillow and do not need to stew about it then or when I wake in the middle of the night.

This is not the same as ‘taking matters into my own hands’ because doing this happens with a listening ear. Even though the Lord usually leads me with one step at a time, for this problem in life, He takes me ahead so I can rest. What a lovely Shepherd. I can rest in His plan and get things done without stressing over what is not yet done. There is no fear in following the leading of Jesus, for He is just as the psalmist wrote:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:1–6)

This beloved psalm is often repeated yet living it provides a great experience. It uses words like not wanting and lying down, being restored, glorifying Him by righeous living, no fear even of death, being with me, being comforted by His protection and correction, overflowing blessing, goodness and mercy, and being with Him always. And most of all, finding these things true as I listen and do the next thing. His leading and control of my life is a blessing almost beyond description. With Him:

Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” (Isaiah 55:13)
Then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert…. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35:6; 10)

PRAY: Lord, these days have been physically exhausting, yet rest for my soul. You know how to get things done without stress or feeling as if the burden is too great. With so much to do, I’d normally be anxious, yet listening to You for “the next thing” has deeply made a difference. I look around me at the order appearing out of chaos and bless Your wisdom and grace for allowing me to trust and follow You, and to do it with joy. Thank You.

When a reorder is in order . . .

A priority list often helps me do the first things first. The problem is deciding what should be first. I’ve a file that helps. It has a graphic-numbering system where the first item is compared to the second one and the most important one is circled. Then that first item is compared to the third, fourth, fifth and so one. When all items are compared with each other, the circled numbers are counted and the items that are the most important will have the high scores. It works as long as “I don’t feel like it” does not start messing with my good intentions.

Habit-forming gurus offer many suggestions. Most of them say to start small and set a deadline. I’ve tried both but procrastination still sets in. Some tasks are easy and some are not. I’ve a spiritual battle with praying, which is a strong priority but easy to replace with something else that does not matter as much but is easier.

However, in reading some web-sites about habits and by reading these verses, God gives me another insight: I sometimes expect too much from myself and need to simplify. The psalmist says:

“I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.” (Psalm 145:1–2)

He had a good habit of praising God every day. That habit became such a great part of his life that he knew he would bless God forever and ever.

As I read that, I thought of my long prayer list and wondered which parts of it would be ‘forever’ prayers. Some are ‘give us this day our daily bread’ prayers. Some are about incidentals like forgiving those who sin against us, which usually does not happen daily but will not be eternal either.

The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. His familiar response, beginning with, “Our Father who art in heaven . . .” are often followed as a prayer in themselves, but He was giving them more an outline. Each part has significance. When I say ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ I could be thinking about messy political situations, someone’s illness, a person lost in sin, and any number of things that need His hand.

As I write this, I think of KISS — keep it simple stupid. God (and my husband) do not approve of me calling myself stupid so in this case, that second S could stand for sidetracked or scattered. I’m also remembering the good advice from Elizabeth Elliot when asked about how she scheduled her time. She said, “I just do the next thing. I always know what it is.”

Knowing the next thing, strange as it may sound, goes with daily praising God. When I slow down to do that, He gives me an understanding of His will for me in all matters of ‘what do I do next?’ It can be the most difficult task on the list, not always but usually. When that tough one is done, the rest seem quick and easy.

This devotional sounds like I’m giving myself a lecture. Maybe, but I’m also hearing the Lord’s soft voice bringing good ideas into an often and woefully scattered mind. I need to simply let myself slow down and praise Him, each day and let that turn into forever and ever.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, thank You for all that You give me, rebukes included. My heart has been stressed — literally and emotionally. This A-fib makes me tired and being tired makes my list seem much longer. You are showing me that I only need to focus on those things that belong to ‘forever and ever’ and let go of most of the rest.

What to do when?

When I go on Pinterest to look at art quilts or anything else that inspires me to make my own quilts, the array and number of beautiful items can be overwhelming —  I need to remember that I can make only one of them at a time. That is doable; a long list of ‘I want to try this’ soon becomes discouraging!

Isn’t this the same with the commandments of God? The Bible says obedience the test of whether or not I love Him. But Jesus tell me that I must keep all of them. Impossible. How can I determine what to do when?

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. (John 14:23–24)

The commandments can be as overwhelming as too much creative inspiration. Even the list of ‘do unto one another’ in the New Testament can produce in me a deep sense of inadequacy — if I forget that I can only obey them one at a time!

At any given moment, I can do all things? Right now, the command of God is that I should desire His Word, read it, consider what He says. I can do that right now. However, feed the poor, visit the sick, preach the gospel, take care of the homeless, minister to widows and children, and so forth — I cannot do all that right now; I’d need to clone myself.

Obedience is never about me deciding what I should do at any given moment anyway. It is about paying attention to the Word of God and Holy Spirit and doing what He points out to me as: ‘this is it, do it right now.’

Elizabeth Elliott was asked how she managed her time. She is a speaker, author, and ambassador for Christ, plus a normal person with the usual responsibilities of life. She said, “I do the next thing. You always know what it is, the next thing.”

This has been an important and helpful guide for me. The next thing is often loud and clear. I’ve been in the grocery store, picked up most or all the items on my list when I hear ‘go home’ and know that is the next thing. I’ve been at home and finished my to-do list when some chore pops in as the next thing, or ‘phone someone’ or some other action pops to mind.

This works in conversation too. Not every thought that comes into my head needs to be expressed, but the Holy Spirit makes clear that when He wants me to say something, I know that whatever it is becomes the ‘next thing’ and I must say it.

Is this inner voice ever wrong? Not very often, but if that happens, it is because it is from a personal desire or agenda rather than me waiting on the Lord’s guidance and Him giving it. If I go ahead and in error or selfishness do whatever I thought was the next thing, the weight of conviction descends on my confidence. I feel guilty, annoyed with myself, sorry for jumping ahead of the Holy Spirit. Figuring out what has happened might take a while, but if I’m honest with myself, it usually does not take long.

^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, I like how Tozer says that the “final test of love is obedience” not emotions, willingness to sacrifice, or zeal, but obedience to Your commandments. You are teaching me that the distinctive sound of Your voice will never ask me to take on more than one thing at a time, but to obey the next thing. Life has become a whole lot less complicated because of this simple truth.

Not given all the answers

A client asked for a painting of some elk. I came up with a composition, but struggled with knowing how to paint it. Some parts were easy, like the elk, but the rest of it challenged me. I asked my art teacher and she said, “Paint the parts that you do know how to do. The rest of it will come to you.”

I’ve been wrestling with what seems like an unsolvable spiritual composition. It has nothing to do with a painting so I go to God and ask Him for help with it. God isn’t giving me a full solution. Added to that problem and His silence is that I tend to dwell on an issue and let it distract me from everything else. That becomes a problem in itself. It’s like throwing out an anchor or hitting a reef, and my ship grinds to a halt. Any usefulness I might have in the kingdom of God is set aside as I try to figure out the problems or issues. While that might be a good idea, what if there is no answer from God. What do I do then?

Paul had a goal and was not there yet. Instead of going into retreat mode until he figured it out, he had a plan to press on with what he did know, similar to my art teacher’s advice . . . 

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. (Philippians 3:12–16)

The part that speaks to me in this passage is that line that says if I am mature, then think this way, but if I’m not thinking that way, God will reveal that to me, but I need to hang on to what I do know.

In other words, if I’m held up somewhere, even confused about why I cannot seem to move forward, then focus on what I do know and press on. God will show me whatever I need to know. I cannot postpone my usefulness until I settle all the problems of my universe. Some might never be settled, and in the meantime, press on. It may seem a good thing to figure out all the puzzles of life, but in the figuring, I still must obey God in those ways He has taught me, not let my life grind to a halt like that ship that has anchored or run aground.

Knowledge can be based on reason. That is, I want to know “why” before I do it. But knowledge can also be based on obedience. This is not blind, but means I must ask “who” instead of why. If Christ is asking me to do something, does it have to make sense? No, sometimes He asks me to do things that make no sense. Not only that, it can be a step-by-step obedience with each step taking me closer to what I don’t see or understand right now. I tend to want a long-range vision where I know the goal ahead, but God knows what is best for me.

Besides, obedience in taking each step (seemingly in the dark at times) brings understanding of the next one. Jesus said that, “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.” (John 7:17) I just need to be willing, rather than know everything.

This is a challenge for me. In trying to figure out God’s long-range plan for a current issues, He isn’t giving me that plan. Instead, He is asking that I do the next thing, or the thing that I know, making me wait each step to know my marching orders for the next step. Wanting to know and solve the final outcome creates frustration, yet He says not to give up.

I’m hoping that I can offer the next step to Christ and give my time and energies to the kingdom of God. By obedience to the light that I have, I must wait on Christ to give me more light, not all the answers.