The Hidden Way
God is not in a hurry.
T. J. Addington wrote in Deep Influence, “God is not in a hurry.”
I will be the first to admit I don’t understand God’s timing. From the day the sun stood still in Joshua 10:13, to Christ’s delay in resuscitating Lazurus in John 11, time means nothing to God’s purposes.
Right now, what are you waiting for?
Is it direction, new business, wisdom for business situations? Is it happening as fast as you would like it to? Probably not.
Even when we’re waiting on Him for direction, it doesn’t always mean we necessarily sit still. He does not always intend for us to wait and do nothing; yet sometimes he does, otherwise the psalmist would not have written “Be still and know that I am God.”
If we are waiting for him to reveal the path he wants us to follow, it helps if we’re already moving in the right direction. When Israel had left Egypt and wasn’t clear where God was leading them, it was because He took them in a roundabout way toward the Red Sea, toward a path they could not see (Exodus 14:17).
When Israel arrived at the shore, they panicked. The way was hidden in the sea, the most unlikely of routes. Moses told the people “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still. Just stay calm.”
God’s direction to Moses, Israel’s leader, was quite the opposite. “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!”
Psalm 77:19 reads
“Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters — a pathway no one knew was there!”
For the entrepreneur, there never seems to be enough time. At times the path is hidden by the sea. We panic.
Even while we’re praying and waiting, we can’t be sitting still. If we’re moving, it helps to be moving in the right direction. Don’t panic.
Whatever you are experiencing now, this time in your life is part of God’s deliberate purpose to change you, to mold you, to conform you into the person He has always intended you to be. It’s to prepare you for the good works he planned for you. He’s not interested in what your business can do for him. He’s interested in what he wants to do through you in your business.
Just as you’re guiding your business according to a plan and an intended outcome, God has an end in mind for you. Yesterday prepared you for today; today is preparing you for tomorrow. Does your strategic plan include God’s strategic plan for you?
Why are you rushing it? Be still, keep moving. Make certain you’re listening.
+++++++
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
© 2015 Brian Sooy is a designer, author, and entrepreneur.