Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – December 7, 2020
And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish. Luke 14:27-31
Recently, a new friend and I attempted to solve a problem. We both had some knowledge of what to do, but with no experience, we lacked the technical expertise. With admirable energy and commitment, we embarked on a seven day process of virtual communication to clearly identify the problem we were trying to solve and then bring to bear the best solution. After several days, despite our best efforts, something or someone was missing—we needed help! So, I called an old friend with a broader area of knowledge related to our conundrum. My friend David connected me to Bradley the expert—and with one 15 minute phone conversation, Bradley assured me, we were overthinking the situation and he provided a simple, yet comprehensive solution. We had made genuine, but wrong assumptions—-we needed help to clarify and simplify our thinking.
Jesus, in riveting fashion, illustrates what it means to be a disciple of His—a committed follower. What does a wise, successful architect first do when she has a big vision for a structure to be designed and built? She may create some sketches, even detailed drawings, but before the first shovel of dirt there must be an accurate cost estimation. Will she have the time, money, expertise and perseverance to finish the task? Like a disciple of Jesus asks, “Will I follow Jesus no matter the cost?” No overthinking with “what ifs”. Planning? Yes, but with no delays, and being intentional to love God and people. Be prepared, and submit to the Spirit as your life architect.
“You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did” (James 2:22).
Are you overthinking an opportunity? You’ve prayed. You’ve sought wise counsel. You’ve researched and done your due diligence. What is keeping you from moving forward by faith? There are three questions I like to ask when contemplating a key decision: 1) What is the best case scenario? 2) What is the worst case scenario? 3) What is the most likely scenario? These objective questions keep me from unnecessarily obsessing over the worst case, they protect me from an overly positive best case and they give me confidence to move forward with the most likely case as my expectation. The Holy Spirit directs a moving object—so keep moving forward!
Are you overthinking your relationships? Do unnecessary questions clutter your mental space? Questions like: What do I have to do to be valued and accepted? Have I let her down? Is the Lord pleased with me? What do I lack, so I can feel like I deserve to be loved? You can rest assured you are God’s beloved child in whom He is well pleased. No need to prove your worth—humbly accept that you are His valued possession. Loved and precious in His sight. Leisurely and alone contemplate Christ’s love for you and reality will come into sharp focus. Dreams and desires, failures and successes, pain and joy all dissolve into proper perspective. Yes, Trust—Think—Do!
“While God was testing him, Abraham still trusted in God and his promises, and so he offered up his son Isaac and was ready to slay him on the altar of sacrifice; yes, to slay even Isaac, through whom God had promised to give Abraham a whole nation of descendants” (Hebrews 11:17-18).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, guide me by your Holy Spirit to rest in your expectations for my life, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Application
What opportunity am I overthinking that I need to immediately move forward and trust God with the next step?
Related Reading
Proverbs 14:22; Isaiah 25:1; Luke 17:6; 1 Thessalonians 1:3
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