As the old saying goes, "Ignorance is Bliss." But, that's only true if you prefer to reject reality and live life with blinders on. Some of us prefer to ignore reality because we can't handle "bad" news, or we want to be in control of everything, or perhaps we want to avoid suffering or hard work. But, life is full of ups and downs, some things are beyond our control, and anything worth having is worth striving for, even if that striving is simply to get into position to receive that which we desire.
When we cease striving or pressing toward the mark because we prefer to remain ignorant or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, when we stop stretching and growing because we think we've already "arrived", we find ourselves coming far shorter of the mark than we realize. Either way, when we get complacent with where we are in life and begin to rest on our own knowledge and abilities, we stunt our growth because no matter how much we've done or how much we do know, we don't know what we don't know--and what we don't know is what can hurt us. It's not a blissful situation at all.
God tells us, "I know the plans I have for you...." and over the course of time and at just the right time He reveals those plans to us. Even though He may reveal the overall plan (the "What"), He often doesn't share all of the details (the "How" or the "When") immediately--those we discover as we step out in faith. Since we don't know exactly how God will bring forth His plans for us, we need to continually stay tuned to His voice so we can hear clearly when He says, "This is the way, walk in it" as we press toward the mark.
Today, I was driving along Capitol Hill shortly after one of the local schools had just let out. I was sitting at a stop light in the left lane and the driver ahead of me had their left turn signal on, preparing to turn left once the light changed. Suddenly, the thought came to me that I should move over one lane to the right, otherwise I would get stuck behind the car in front of me as the driver made the left turn. ("This is the way, walk in it.") I surveyed the situation and as far as I could see, everything was completely clear to the left, so in my mind, there was nothing to hinder the car from turning once the light changed, and therefore no need for me to move over.
Well, what I didn't know is that a group of school children would decide to jaywalk in the lane the driver was preparing to turn in. The students slowly (did I say, "slooowly"?) and casually strolled across the street as if to make the most of their disregard for traffic rules.
So, there it was. I relied on what I knew about the situation at hand and decided to disregard God's voice that clearly instructed me to move over one lane because of a pending traffic impediment. I reasoned the voice away because as far as I knew there was no impediment in sight. But I didn't know what I didn't know....
God knew exactly when those students' wayward feet would hit that street, and He knew that they would move at an excruciatingly slow beat. There was no way for me to know that, but God sees all and knows all. I still made it to my destination on time, despite the delay, but the lesson wasn't about me being delayed in reaching my physical destination. The lesson was about me remembering that I cannot afford to lean on my own understanding as I move toward that divine destination God has for me on this side of glory. God has given me a reasonable amount of intelligence and critical thinking abilities, but even with all that I have learned from various schools-- including the school of hard knocks-- I definitely don't know it all.
Thank God, we don't have to know it all, we just have to know the One who does know it all. And, when we humble ourselves in His sight, He will lift us up far beyond what we know, and even farther beyond what we don't know.
BNcouraged!
Rev. Karen
No comments:
Post a Comment