Stepping Ahead of God
Don’t you just hate it when you promise someone that you’re going to do something that they asked you to do, but because you don’t do it at the exact moment that they want it, they go ahead and do it for themselves—-while you’re already working on it?! Recently, a very good friend of mine did just that. He asked me to do something for him that he desperately needed and I promised him that I would and that he would have it by a certain time. He’s known me for a very long time and from previous experiences, he knows that I always deliver on my promises.
As I was working on his request, I had some unforeseen distractions and was a bit delayed in getting it to him. You can imagine my offense when – just as I was finishing up his request- I received an email from him that he had decided to work on it because I was taking too long. Hello?! At that point, what could I really do? He showed me what he did and in turn I showed him what I had done. Not to toot my own horn, but he admitted that what I had done was better and decided to use it.
This incident prompted me to think about our tendency to step ahead of God. We ask him for something; we know He can and will deliver but because He does not do it according to our timeframe, and we can’t wait, we do our own thing. What happens when we try to step ahead of God is that we lose out on the best that He has for us. In most cases, we also make a mess of our current situation and delay what He already had in the works for us. I can’t tell you how many times, in my immature faith; I stepped ahead of God because I was too impatient to wait. I thought that what I was doing would get me what I wanted and what was best for me only to be left, in the end, with ashes. In some cases when I took matters into my own hands, I dug myself a deep hole and then had to turn to God to help me climb out. If only I had waited on His perfect timing. If only I had relied on His insight, His might, His understanding, His will and not my own. If only I had done this, I could have saved myself a lot of grief and avoided missteps that have only veered me off course and stolen precious time. If only.
Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding
It is often quoted that “God helps those who help themselves.” Though this quote is not in the bible, we are encouraged to step out in faith; however, we should always seek God’s direction, guidance and ultimately His will for our lives. Stepping out in faith doesn’t necessarily mean stepping ahead of God and taking matters into our own hands. Stepping out in faith means letting Him lead the way; seeking continual guidance and trusting that He will direct our paths. Stepping out in faith means that when He closes a door, we don’t make a window just to jump around the closed door, but wait in faith for another opening which, in His good timing, He will provide. Waiting on His timing while praying for His guidance, saves us time in the long run. You may feel that you can no longer wait on Him but trust that He can and will deliver on His promises to you. He knows you more than you know yourself and He knows what is best for you. More importantly, He is working on filling your needs, even though you can’t see it. I was working on my friend’s request even though he thought I wasn’t and I was doing my best to provide something that would aptly suit his need.
Are you waiting on something that you have prayed for, maybe for a very long time? Keep trusting and keep seeking His direction. Don’t step ahead of Him but stay in step with Him, remaining in obedience and trusting and seeking His guidance.
(Reflection – Think about the story of Abraham and Sarah. God promised Abraham that he would one day be the father of many nations, but he had no children. Abraham and Sarah waited on God’s promises and at one time took matters into their own hands only to bear the grief of that decision. True to His word, however, God granted them a son when they were well beyond their child bearing years. God used them to reveal His glory and to show that He always comes through, right on time. Genesis Chaps. 15-21)
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3 Responses
Kaleb, something similar happened to me and I never looked at it this way. Funny how events in our everyday life can so often reflect how we are in our relationship with God. Thanks for sharing.
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God must be telling me something. This is the second time in the past two days that I have read an admonition regarding not getting ahead of God 
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Kaleb Reply:
July 9th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Julie – that happens to me alot too. God has a way of getting His message across when He wants to tell us something. When something like that happens to me, I dedicate time in prayer to that particular issue so I can get confirmation on what He is trying to tell me. Thanks for sharing.
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