Two Searching Questions

Let me ask you two pointed questions—from one pastor to another.

First: What makes risk so difficult for you? Be painfully honest as you answer that question. Blow away the fog in your thinking. Clear out the nettles and overgrown vines of tradition or bad habits or just plain sloth. Change, for most people, is enormously challenging. Walking with the Lord is a risky path, and everything within us, when we lean on our own understanding, screams, “Just keep it like it is. Just leave it alone. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

But sometimes things need to be rearranged even though they aren’t broken. Sometimes we need a major change of direction, not necessarily because we are going in an evil direction—it’s just not the direction God wants for us. God never wants us to substitute the good for the very best.

Now, here’s my second question: Are you willing to make a major change in your life—assuming that it’s the Lord’s will? I’m now convinced that the real issue is not so much, “What does God want me to do?” as it is, “Am I willing to do it once He makes it clear?”

Before moving on with your day, before working further on your sermon, before answering another phone call or e-mail . . . I urge you to stop and answer those two questions.

I don’t believe you are ready to move ahead until you have done so.

—Chuck

Comments

[Derek]

Dear Chuck,
I'm not sure what you mean by the phrase...'God never wants you to substitute the good for the very best.'
Would you be so kind as to elaborate on your statement?
Blessings,
Derek

[Wayne Stiles]

Hi, Derek,

I believe Chuck means that the Lord prefers we do "God's best"-- that is, what God has as best for us as individuals. The list of what is "good" is endless, but what of those good things does God want us to do? That is the "best," I believe.

Wayne Stiles
Insight for Living