When You Want to Know What God is Gonna Do

He went out, not knowing where he was going.” – Hebrews 11:8 ESV

Some people seem to have this new year’s gig figured out.

Their January days appear to ebb and flow in steady, productive rhythms. Plans move forward, dreams bud and bloom, and stuff just plain happens.

And then there’s the rest of us who trudge through January with undecided steps. Our resolutions and goals seem as cold and wild as the winter wind.

Uneasy questions rival our plans. And the only thing with rhythm is a tired, persistent prayer where we ask God to show up and tell us what He’s gonna do with, well … everything.

How do I …? When will You …? What will I …?

We’re hungry for a bit of revelation. We can’t take another year of sluggish, scattered progress that drains our soul and robs our faith.

No. Not again. Not one more day of standing still on hopeless, mountain slopes.

Over and over, we lift up our desires and ask God to fill us with details and blueprints and neon lights upon our rocky paths. Yet only silence seems to fill our waiting space.

Last week, I was here.

As I ate my breakfast, I begged God to tell me where to go and what He was up to. Then, between spoonfuls of yogurt, I read these words from Oswald Chambers:

Have you been asking God what He’s going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do; He tells you Who He is.

Suddenly, I saw how my prayers for “eyes to see” had gone sideways. In my desperation for strategies and schemes, I forgot to simply be satisfied with the Who God is.

So who is this God to me? Who is He to you?

More telling is who has He been? In the highs and lows, in the pains and joys, who has God been?

A Healer?

Faithful?

A Miracle-Worker?

A Friend?

Your Strength, Power, Promise, Hope?

Then He will be these things today. And tomorrow. And then … when January comes around again.

Are you satisfied – really satisfied, that God and His character are not fleeting?

That the same miracle-working, strength-giving, God of all peace and wisdom of yesterday is the same today?

I hope so.

By the way, I’ve stopped praying for details, and road maps, and for God to send down His list of intentions. Instead, I’m asking God to simply inspire me with who He is.

And you know what? My undecided, January steps look far more trustworthy when God is my focus.

May God inspire you this week to see Him as He truly is.


A Little R&R (Reflect and Respond)

Abraham demonstrated incredible faith when he left his homeland, family, and friends to go a land God would show him. Sometimes I wonder how Abraham could so willingly go with a God he didn’t know. Yet, in Acts 7:2-3, Stephen tells us the “Glory of God appeared to our father Abraham … and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’”

How dramatic that must have been! Certainly, at that moment, there was no denying who God was! God’s glory inspired Abraham to trust when trust didn’t make sense.

  • Have you had moments when God was absolutely certain in your life?
  • Could you draw on His certainty in all your future uncertainties?
  • Who has God been to you?
  • When do you feel most satisfied in God?

2 Replies

  1. Lori perez

    So glad that God has brought back the Hope Filled Road. This is one way that God is helping me with my unanswered prayers. Missed reading these devotionals and hearing such inspirational words. Looking forward to reading each Monday what our Lord is putting in your hearts to share with all of us. Welcome back.

    1. Raye Wortel

      It’s good to be back Lori, thank you for being an amazing supporter!

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