I Give Up My Right to Know...
Doesn't it just feel good to KNOW things and have a plan?
Doesn't it feel comfortable and cozy?
Doesn't it make you feel safe and secure?
I would LOVE to say that God is all about that...
But He's not.
Historically, God seems to love the ways of taking a leap of faith,
Or even a baby step of faith.
I hate to say it but anyone who did anything GREAT in the Bible never got off easy in the faith department.
Look at Abraham. He had to wait 25 years for his promise of his son Isaac to come to fruition.
Look at Joseph. He had to wait 13 years to get to the place of power he had in his dream.
Look at David. He had to wait 22 years to be king of all of Israel.
All of them had so many bumps, delays and WAITING.
So what does the modern day version look like?
Let's look at Katherine Warnock, the President of Original Content at The Chosen (TV series about Jesus that is on fire). Her career was anything but normal. She calls it a bi-polar resume. God had her all over different industries from MGM Studios to fashion to Producer. It was a wild ride, and similar to the characters in the bible, after her big YES to God's plan, it was not all peaches and cream puffs. It was a lot of dungeons before reaching the palace.
Let's take a look at the movie "The Sound of Freedom". It had all sorts of blockades and barriers. On the first day of filming they lost funding while all the actors and crew are in Columbia ready to start shooting. The director and lead actor were men of faith and they put their necks on the line and took a leap of faith to push forward with filming. Also, the movie was actually finished 5 years before it came to theaters, which means they had blockade after blockade in getting this to the public.
Let's take a look at YOU.
Where are you at?
Do you feel like God gave you a big purpose or vision but there's so much turmoil all around?
Are things not coming together?
Are things financially stressful?
Are you wondering why things are so hard?
Are you starting to doubt your vision?
So did everyone else that was great.
Not one came out saying "I had 100% faith the whole time."
Heck, Abraham tried to make his own son through another woman and that ended up in a disaster. (those two nations are fighting to this day)
So if you feel like you're fumbling,
If you feel like you're being crushed,
If you feel like "Is this right?",
Welcome to the club.
It's the club of winners,
It's the club of visionaries,
It's the club of God's children,
It's the club of being refined by God.
Jesus never said the path was easy,
But He said He would give us the strength to endure it.
"God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."
It's a guarantee that you WILL face hard times.
Yes, CRAZY hard times.
It might make you second guess everything,
But remember God's promise,
He will give you the strength to overcome it all.
"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
So here's one thing I am learning how to do.
(FYI, not my original phrase, got it from someone else...)
To say to God "I give up my right to KNOW."
It's a spirit of surrender.
It's a spirit of humility.
God doesn't owe us an explanation.
God never gave anyone the full plan.
God has a pattern of giving an end result, but the in between can be VERY testing and VERY long.
Don't be surprised if your big amazing vision takes longer than you think.
I don't recall one story in the bible or one success story of entrepreneurs where it was like, "It was a piece of cake. I could do that in my sleep."
Instead, everyone went through trials, hardships, suffering and had to endure it all.
I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but there's no "shortcut" to becoming a great man or women of God,
There's not shortcut to moving God's kingdom forward.
The reason for no shortcuts is,
God has bigger plans for you than you do.
That means,
There's deeper foundations to dig than you planned on.
But don't be discouraged or disappointed,
Because in every single case in the past,
It was well worth it.
Ask Abraham, Jacob and David.
Ask any man or woman of God that you admire.
Ask any faithful entrepreneur.
It's all part of the process.
So if you don't feel like you have enough info, GREAT!
God's got you exactly where He wants you.
He's waiting for you to say,
"I give up my right to KNOW."
God's M.O. is that He gives the next single step and expects you to trust Him and follow Him.
God's M.O. is that He tests and grows your faith during this process.
God's M.O. is that He doesn't report to anyone and doesn't owe you an explanation for anything.
Better get used to it.
Don't get me wrong,
He will be there to hold your hand,
Pick you up when you fall,
Comfort you,
Advise you,
Guide you,
But He does not have a track record of giving you the 10 step plan so you can feel safe and comfortable.
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
So for those who have a dream doing wild things with God,
For those who have a burning desire to move the kingdom forward,
I applaud you,
I cheer you on,
I want more like you.
Just know that it comes with WAITING.
Don't be surprised about that.
You will feel like you have ants in your pants,
You want to do the boogie dance.
If you think that's you,
God's got you where He wants you.
Now just utter the words,
"God I give up my right to KNOW."
You may be twitching as you say it,
You may not really mean it,
But it's a start.
So then what CAN you do in a time like this?
What do you do when God just gives you 1 step and not 10?
Seek.
Listen.
Obey.
And then, seek, seek, seek.
This means extra time with Him,
Asking questions,
Writing down answers,
In worship,
In praise,
Just basking in His glory.
Seeking Him earnestly,
Desperately,
Continuously.
The more lost, stressed, frustrated you feel,
Seek Him even more,
Then more,
Then some more.
"In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
Jesus has already won every battle,
There's nothing to fear.
You just need to trust,
By saying "I give up my right to KNOW."
Here's 5 Steps to Seek God and Make Decisions with Him
1) Quiet Place.
- Find a quiet place where you can hear yourself think and not be interrupted. Turn your phone off, face down, no distractions.
2) Quiet Mind.
- You can be in a quiet space but still have a noisy head. Take 3 deep breaths and while exhaling slowly, imagine the noisy junk in your head draining like a swimming pool and your shoulders relaxing each time. Do this slowly 3 times.
3) Scripture.
- When you're seeking to hear God's voice, there's no better way to clear the spiritual pollution than with the Sword of the Spirit, aka scripture.
- I recommend 1 Corinthians Chapter 13, aka "The Love Chapter".
4) Ask a Question.
- Ask God a single simple question. It can be about anything - work, finances, health, relationships. Keep the question simple. Ask God the question and WAIT. LISTEN for a response. This can come in the form of a thought, impressions, memory, image, anything. Whatever comes to mind, just write it down with CHILD-like faith. Do as a 5 year old would do with this instruction. Literally just write down the first thing that comes to mind.
5) Ask Follow-up Questions.
- Then ask follow-up question like "What do you mean? Can you tell me more? Anything else? Can you be more specific? What else?". Ask at least 2 follow-up questions to get some meat. Ask as many follow-up questions as you want.
Rinse and repeat Steps 4 & 5 with as many questions as you have. Remember to keep asking multiple follow-up questions. Go deep with God in the details.
Congrats! This is how you seek God and get answers. If this is your first time, you may wonder if this is right. Yes it is. You may have doubt or question if it's really Him, but that's why you need to keep practicing. Do this for 1 week straight and see what you get. You will be pleasantly surprised.
So as you are figuring out your next 1 step,
You get it by doing the 5 steps above.
And even though you may not know the next 10 steps,
God will always give you the next 1 step when you SEEK Him.
This is a season of surrender and trusting.
It may not always be this tight,
But if it is, just roll with it.
Don't fight it.
It's ok.
You're not doing anything wrong.
That's how God works,
It's all over the place in the Bible.
Just focus on the next 1 thing God gives you and do it in excellence.
Then ask Him for the next 1 thing.
He will guide you,
Even if you feel lost,
Just keep intentionally ASKING Him.
He's right there with you.
"Dear Heavenly Father,
I give up my right to KNOW.
It's uncomfortable,
I don't love it,
But I choose it,
Because I choose YOU.
I choose to TRUST You,
I choose to SURRENDER all things to YOU,
I choose to GROW in You,
I choose You.
But Lord, not gonna lie,
This is hard,
I'm antsy,
I'm impatient,
I sometimes doubt,
I'm all over the place.
Help me settle down,
Help me TRUST in You,
Help me GROW in You.
Help me to HEAR Your voice clearly,
Help me to spend more time SEEKING You,
Help me to be STILL and know that You are God.
I TRUST in Your ways,
Your ways are higher than my ways,
I surrender ALL things to You.
Geronimo, here we go!
In Jesus name, Amen."
Embrace the season of,
"I give up my right to KNOW."
Enjoy getting stretched in your faith!
It hurt so goooood! (Owie) ^_^
