Calmly Expectant: Rejecting a Culture of Fearful Urgency

Buy Now!

Don’t Miss Out!

If you don’t act now you’ll miss out on something really great, it could in fact be the chance of a lifetime.

My culture bombards me with the constant messages of urgent action. Not intentional living, but knee jerk, desperate, fearful grasping.

I wish I could say that the church is immune to this. We are not. We preach a brand of faith that is moment dependent.

God is doing something today, we say, don’t miss out. Don’t quench the spirit. Don’t hesitate to respond to the call.

All of those things are true and good, but when added to the already crushing pressure of a culture whose sole purpose is to remind us that we don’t measure up, it can sometimes just add to the noise.

Jesus life on earth was very busy, but never hurried. He acted when needed, he rested when needed. But he refused to rush through his limited days on this earth.

He was measured in his words and actions. I sometimes think of Jesus a bit like Gandalf’s quote from the Fellowship of the Ring.

“A wizard is never late. Nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to.”

Common wisdom seems to say that we could take advantage of opportunities and privileges that come our way in life. But obviously we can’t do, and buy everything we come across. Being inundated with choice, is perhaps a first world problem, but it is still a very real one. By necessity, we sometimes say no.

This is such a dangerous view because it puts me entirely in charge of my own destiny. It discounts the supernatural power of an Almighty God, and his beautiful, well thought out plans for my life.

I don’t claim to fully understand how God’s sovereignty and man’s apparent free will play into this. But I do know that I am never alone in my journey on this earth, and that God is not wringing his hands in heaven every time I make a mistake.

I don’t believe God has ever looked down, and done a divine face palm, saying to himself “Wow, she has really messed up this time. How could I have not seen this coming? There is just no way what I had in mind will work now.”

By all means, pray, and ask for God’s direction. Talk to those you trust. Weigh the pros and cons. But if in the end, you choose not to open the door to opportunity do it without fear. God’s will is not as easy to miss as we believe. His good plans are not thwarted by the whims of man.

I need to stop wondering if I am taking advantage of the right opportunities and instead practice the ability to hear his voice better, to know him better so that I may clearly see his direction when it comes. I refuse to be dragged by the rushing river of culture that demands more, better, sooner. Instead, I choose to be calmly expectant.