Still Waiting?

How to stay stuck: Wait until you feel called.

There is an epidemic among Christian men in particular: a sort of mysticism in which they are patiently waiting for a mysterious call. I have found myself doing this, and it's incredibly frustrating, not just to yourself but also to those who live with you and around you. So, I thought I would share with you some lessons that I personally have learned from a dear friend.

How to Stay Stuck:

• Wait for the right conditions.

“He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.”
Ecclesiastes 11:4

The weather is never going to be right.
The field gets planted anyway, or it doesn’t.

• Study obedience instead of practicing it.

Another commentary. Another sermon series. Another notebook. Another podcast.

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
James 1:22

• Pray about what God already answered.

You don’t need to seek His will on loving your wife or raising your children in the Lord. It’s written.

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
James 4:17

• Obey the parts you agree with.

Saul spared Agag and kept the best of the sheep. He said it was for sacrifice.

Samuel told him obedience is better than sacrifice. (1 Samuel 15:22)

Partial obedience is still disobedience.

• Say yes and never go.

Jesus told of two sons. One said he would go work in the vineyard and didn’t. The other refused, then repented and went.

Only one did the will of his father. (Matthew 21:28-31)

Your yes means nothing until your feet move.

• Hold out for a bigger assignment.

Skip the budget, the dishes, the bedtime prayers. Wait for something that feels important.

“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”
Luke 16:10

• Settle your old life first.

“And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.”
Luke 9:59

Pay attention to the word “first.”
That’s where most men stop.

• Keep looking back.

“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:62

You can’t plow a straight row staring over your shoulder.

• Start tomorrow.

“I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.”
Psalm 119:60

The psalmist didn’t put obedience on a calendar.
He hurried to it.

If you want to stay stuck, keep waiting.

If you want to move:

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
John 14:15

The call came with the Book.
Today is enough time to start.