Recently I was asked by a great friend what my plan was for Back 9 Ministries. The conversation even mentioned where I might be headed in the next 30 years. In a way, it caught me a little off guard. Over the last six years I have had the mindset of “drop my hands” and allow God to guide me….day to day…and hour by hour, becoming highly sensitive to God’s voice…..ALL THE TIME. Thinking 30 years out is a little beyond my scope in some respects.
I had been in such a state of running ahead of God and working to control and make “life” great for others, A.K.A. “people pleasing,” in the middle part of the Front 9 of life, that I have enjoyed my “New Normal” of praying and making some tentative plans but making sure they were in “pencil” with a big eraser! For me, spiritual maturity is less about figuring out the future and more about moment by moment sensitivity to the Spirit of God.
This practice has so caused me to live in the present…glancing at the future but making the most of the day…that I have been given…allowing interruptions to be the “best and most opportune ministry!” I am not at all suggesting that we shouldn’t plan. Psalm 90:12 teaches us to ask of the Lord to, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” There are certainly life circumstances we should all plan for but our world and culture promote…”our control” of “our days”. Many times we fail to realize we are not promised tomorrow. Running way ahead of God with plans can make us deaf to the “voice of God.”
So yes, I plan. I have dreams and some goals and visions but I am careful to daily…check to see if this is the day that God may want to redirect anything that I have on paper. In my mind, I want Back 9 to reach millions, books to be read by millions, and I want to speak to whoever God puts in my path…but faithfully sitting at His feet allowing Him to drive my days and future has been “walking on water” for me. It’s almost like being a passenger in the car of my life and looking over at the driver’s seat to see the steering wheel turning and the driver is invisible but I know it is “Jesus!”
It is a trust I cannot describe any other way except to say it’s me getting up…seeking Him…allowing Him to tell me where we are going today…dressing and taking the action to “get in” or “get up” and Go! All require me to get busy…but He directs. I find some days don’t turn out to be what I had planned at all. The most recent redirection has been the release of the second book. We tentatively planned it to be on shelves by Thanksgiving….but now it will be January…all out of my hands…but trusting God’s timing is better than my plans.
He directs….He controls…His timing is perfect. I could stress myself out with thinking….that didn’t meet my goal or plan. But today? It is about “rolling” with a trust that says, “I know Who holds the future.”
For you, the reader, if this seems weird, trust me…it was very strange to me at first. Years ago I decided…to “let go” of plans in stone…visions in stone in my mind…to make plans with pencil and be willing to erase or course correct very quickly…learning to “TRULY” allow God to direct the smallest of decisions. When you decide to do this, it takes intention. BUT the “God Moments” increase ten-fold. Why? Because you do not miss one turn or plan He has for you all day or week.
It is exhilarating to have those “moments” all the time. Most would call such moments coincidences! At first, I thought it was weird, uncanny, but now I expect them and laugh and smile when they come. I know that it is a matter of walking in God steps that He has imprinted for me.
He has steps for you too. It is in hearing His voice daily. I believe the best time is early in the morning. Listening and obeying even if it doesn’t make sense. Even if you pull the plug on your plans, and it causes your day, week or month to look completely different, trust Him every step of the way!
Some would like to think there is some magic to it or that it is difficult to experience God moments. It’s rocket science to them. It is about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and spending time at His feet…in His Word. As Isaiah puts it, when we seek the Lord, He will teach us His ways so that we know which path to walk. Isaiah 2:3, “Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths’…”
I encourage you to check your pencil today. Make sure it has a good eraser on it! And then, get busy seeking God.