Just Show Up – JSU might be considered 50% of the battle. It is said that, whatever it is that you are feeling directed by God to do, always requires “taking the first step.” Simple. Right? No! That initial step is usually the hardest; rarely being easy to take.
Over a long period of time, indecisively thinking about what you are being nudged to do often results in “it” becoming just too much for you. Somehow you never get around to acting on it until it’s too late (decision made for you). “Now I can’t.” There, that was easy… Yet, was it really because you couldn’t or because you wouldn’t?
You find yourself easily stuck, even immobilized, by an inner fear. So rather than taking that first step, you take other steps of evaluating, assessing, “reasonably processing”: “It likely will go well” (if you know enough in advance – feeling somewhat in control of something) OR “It might not go well” (because you don’t know enough – feeling not in control of anything). The ironic truth of it all, is that you were never intended to be in control in the first place! Rather, you were intended to implicitly trust the One leading you there.
Perhaps you’re tired of being caught in the relentless eddy of self-defeating hesitation. Prayerfully with God, consider the liberation that comes with a JSU mindset:
J – JOIN (don’t isolate) attend or be present at the event or place, with expectancy (God will do something here) not expectations (God will do something I want here).
S – STAY (don’t leave) waiting and watching as it plays out, so you don’t miss the blessings God has for you along the way.
U – UNDERSTAND (don’t doubt) knowing that He is always working in ways that are not your ways, for purposes greater than yours.
—RWO/MAST
Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash
Comments by Ric Ochsner