Dear Friends,

I have never made a catalogue of the greatest spiritual dangers, but if I did, the temptation to do something, anything, would be at the top of the list. Action is prized in a world filled with incessant messages to want more, do more, be more. “Just do it” is one of the most successful advertising slogans ever.

Athletes are focused on peak performance. Businesses concentrate on performance improvement. E-mail alerts call us to action daily, if not hourly. Interactive wrist watches tell us if we are doing enough.

This pressure for performance takes a toll at its most extreme. I read an article this week about young entrepreneurs who literally have worked themselves into catastrophic physical breakdown. http://www.inc.com/michael-simmons/are-you-overworking-9-signs-that-you-re-on-track-for-a-breakdown.html?cid=sf01001 .

An interesting question to me that I never hear driven performers ask, is this–“Who is it for whom I am performing when I commit my mind, soul and body to this effort? To whom am I committing my life?”

In my explanations of Christ and grace to professionals, I am often resisted by an insistence that our highest calling and path to salvation is to do good. “We have this education, skills, affluence for a purpose. We are supposed to help people and make the world a better place,” I am told.

“Yes,” I reply, “but it was God’s intention from creation on to be the source of our life and inspiration for our actions (Gen 2). The fall from grace came when Adam and Eve thought they could make their own decisions and take action on their own initiative (Gen 3). Our calling is to turn ourselves over to God in trust and live in confidence that he will inspire and guide our actions or stop us.”

This usually draws the comment, “I’m not sure about that. Surely, we must do something.”

My reply is, “Yes, we have something to do. We are supposed to be still, listen for God and do what he tells us to do. What do you think Jesus meant when he said, “Come to me, all you who are weary, and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt 11:28-30).

“When you are driving around in circles lost, do you finally stop and type an address into GPS and wait for directions or look at a map, or do you keep burning fuel and become more frustrated by the minute? When is the last time you sat down with the word of God, reflected on Scripture and its meaning for your life, asked your heavenly Father for direction, waited to receive it, and stayed still long enough for the turmoil and confusion to settle down in your heart and your spiritual vision to clear?”

“But surely we don’t hear God’s voice, Kent,” is the frequent retort. “So how will we know what God wants us to do?”

“God’s will for us is that his life become ours (Gal 2:20, Col 3:1-4). It isn’t a matter of hearing voices. It is a matter of complete surrender to God along the lines of Mary, who said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke1:30).

“Beyond the point of surrender, what more do we want to know and why do we want to know it? If we are still looking for Gideon’s wet and dry fleeces beyond the point of surrender, we must know we really aren’t surrendered to his will (Jgs 6:36-40). We just don’t like the choice he offers us and we want something else more to our liking. That’s insisting on ‘My will be done, God.’

“I tell you, ‘Surrender to God by letting go of all your wants and fears to him. Remain still and listen for him. You will learn what to do next. “True faith results in action ( Js 2:18-26). If you have truly yielded, go ahead and make your choice and take your step because we are promised that when we are focused on God alone, his will becomes our will (Rom 12:1-3)  If this is simplistic, so be it. This is the way I live and how I have found enduring peace in Christ.'”

I still receive push-back because trusting God is hard to do in the face of the hurts, hang-ups and habits that define us and the pride that keeps us trying to work things out for ourselves.

Relatively few people trust God enough to put their dilemmas and requests before him and wait for an answer. Even fewer are open to his leading enough to accept closed doors or silence as his caution to us not to move forward, but to stay or go another direction. A loving parent says, “yes” whenever possible, but says “no” to what is not best for the child. That instinct is acquired from our heavenly Father who loves his children.

Because our heavenly Father is loving, he does not leave us groping in the dark or guessing at answers. He gives us aids to finding his wisdom and knowing his will.

For instance, we have Scripture. I always look for at least two Bible verses in context to support a major decision.

We have prayer. I have come to know there is a peace or an unrest in my soul after I have submitted all my issues, thoughts and feelings to God. I listen and obey because “the peace of Christ” is God’s referee to rule on the issues in our souls (Col 3:15). Over time, I have found peace in simply submitting the concern to him, knowing that he will take care of it.

We have waiting on God. Scripture is replete with instructions to wait. Waiting on God allows the truth to distill out like solids settle and separate from water resulting in clarity. Here are three helpful scriptural guides for waiting.

1. “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” (Ex 14:13). The Lord sees the dangers and snares ahead. He will find a way where there seems to be no way, but if we plunge ahead and thrash around we lose the benefit of his guidance.
2. “Wait . . . until you learn how the matter turns out” (Ruth 3:18). “When you wait on the Lord in prayer, you are not wasting your time; you are investing it. God is preparing both you and your circumstances so that His purposes will be accomplished. However, when the right time comes for us to act by faith, we dare not delay” (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament, 2nd ed. [Colorado Springs, CO: David c Cook, 2007] p 755).
3. “Be still, and know that I am God,” (Ps 46:10). The word “know” here is a powerful word of intimacy. It conveys knowledge and understanding gained from close, attentive observation. It is a summons to us to stay quiet and observe God being God for us.

In matters regarding church and community, I have learned to look for the relationships that magnify God and expand and deepen love for my brothers and sisters and to avoid relationships that reduce God to a rigid, conditional  formula for behavior and constrain my love for my brothers and sisters (John 17; 2 John 4-11; 3 John 9-11). I also seek to be an agent of that love in our Lord’s instruction and power (John 14:34-35).

We also have knowledge, experience, and common sense and I try not to defy any of these as I believe they are gifts of a loving God when utilized in a manner consistent with his Word.

Maybe it is faith, or maybe it is my personality or both, but I don’t agonize about making good choices or bad choices. I just keep seeking God and yielding to him, not for a moment, but always.  I move on what I understand to be true about God, trusting that he will close doors and stop me or turn me around if he doesn’t like my direction. I believe we are called to faithfulness to him, not self-perfection.

I was told by a preacher once, “Kent, move ahead and God will catch up with you.” That is wretched advice reflecting an arrogant point of view and I did not follow it.

God leads and I follow–this is the order I must obey without exception. Experience has taught me when I act on my own, I attempt to force solutions, strip out the connecting threads of relationships and break things with the strain.

The Creator who forms the bud and opens the rose with such effortless grace and beauty desires nothing less for us. He offers us his life in all its fullness. Our choice is whether to accept his offer, or continue to act on our own initiative and in our own strength. Confronted with this choice between eternal life or your best performance, what are you going to do?

“O taste and see that the Lord is good. Happy are those who take refuge in him” (Psalm 34:8).
Under the mercy of Christ,

Kent

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Please note that the content and viewpoints of Mr. Hansen are his own and are not necessarily those of the C.S. Lewis Foundation. We have not edited his writing in any substantial way and have permission from him to post his content.

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Kent Hansen is a Christian attorney, author and speaker. He practices corporate law and is the managing attorney of the firm of Clayson, Mann, Yaeger & Hansen in Corona, California. Kent also serves as the general counsel of Loma Linda University and Medical Center in Loma Linda, California.

Finding God’s grace revealed in the ordinary experiences of life, spiritual renewal in Christ and prayer are Kent’s passions. He has written two books, Grace at 30,000 Feet and Other Unexpected Places published by Review & Herald in 2002 and Cleansing Fire, Healing Streams: Experiencing God’s Love Through Prayer, published by Pacific Press in spring 2007. Many of his stories and essays about God’s encompassing love have been published in magazines and journals. Kent is often found on the hiking trails of the southern California mountains, following major league baseball, playing the piano or writing his weekly email devotional, “A Word of Grace for Your Monday” that is read by men and women from Alaska to Zimbabwe.