Becoming Clear

"Muddy water becomes clear if you only let it be still for a while.” Dallas Willard

Have you ever faced a confusing or difficult situation and jumped into action only to make it worse? Our desire to make things right or to force an outcome leads us to stir things up when the better choice might be to let them settle instead. 

Part of my natural reaction is to want to fix things. When I see something out of alignment I want to make it right. I don’t think this is a terrible trait, but I have discovered (often the hard way) that making decisions and taking action before things are clear doesn’t always end well. My eagerness has often led me to moving prematurely before fully understanding what’s really happening.

Over the last decade I’ve learned to pause before jumping into situations and asserting myself. As a person of action that hasn’t been an easy habit to develop but has been honed through many difficult life lessons. This is something each of us can develop if we are committed to change. Over time we can then make the conscious decision to pause, take a deep breath, and carefully examine the situation before deciding what to do.

The habit of patient contemplation is often underrated. Allow yourself time and space to think when things are overwhelming and you are unsure. Learning to be still in our thoughts and actions makes the next step more clear.

Clueless

Do you ever feel absolutely clueless? Maybe it's in a social situation when you aren't real sure what's going to happen or who is going to be there. Perhaps it's a situation in your job when you aren't sure what will happen to your company or the people you work with. It may be an unsettling relationship ordeal and the lack of a clear, healing solution. There are many moments in parenting when cluelessness kicks in especially as your children enter new phases of life.

I can speak of this state with a certain amount of (uncertain) authority as I have been here many times in my own life. While I don't have an immediate solution for this lack of clarity, I do believe there are things we can do until the waters are less murky.

• Keep doing what you know is right. 
• Pray consistently and faithfully. 
• Seek out the counsel of wiser, more experienced people. 
• Do everything with respect and love.

This doesn't guarantee the immediate appearance of a clear direction, but it puts us in the best position to receive it when it finally arrives.

Clarity

We will find success more often when we know what is expected of us. It's difficult to achieve objectives when they are unclear. You can work diligently, investing great emotional & spiritual energy only to discover that your efforts were wasted on the wrong track. It's why we need clear communication in our personal relationships as well as in our career calling. Without this clarity you can expend a great deal of energy only to find out that you are no closer to your desired objectives than when you began.

God doesn't want us to do that to ourselves so He gives us specific directions to help us as well. He wants us to see the importance of how we speak and what our hearts are intently focused on. It's by following His pathway that we can be assured of making progress in the right direction.

Psalm 37:30-31   The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak 

what is just. The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip. 

Eyes Wide Open

I pray for many things, but three words seem to frequently find their way onto my prayer list: wisdom, vision, and clarity. I know that I never have enough of them and that God is the ultimate, pure source of all three. It's a desire on my part to gain the most blessing & direction in my personal life as well as in ministry. It is a reflection of the urgency I feel in my life as I don't want to miss any opportunities that God provides.

These can be as simple as a divine appointment at Starbucks that I drift past without noticing, an opportunity to reach out to our community that needs to be seized, a moment that should be spent in prayer, a desire to know the future for my family, or simply spending precious dwindling minutes with my daughters. God presents these openings for us to step into His will on a regular basis. Whether we seize them, waltz by unknowingly, or blatantly disregard them is a reflection of our attention to God and the wisdom, clarity, and vision He provides. When we stumble in these areas it is not God that knocks us down, but it is a result of the self-centered focus we have shifted to instead.

The solution is to consistently and faithfully ask God and keep our vision securely focused on Him as we await the answers.

If I keep my eyes on God, I won't trip over my own feet.  Psalm 25:15 (The Message)