Motion-activated

We live in the country and I love our motion-activated gate.

I know when I drive up and approach it, it will swing open and allow me to move out onto the road ahead of me.

Sometimes I think about the ways we approach the things ahead of us in life, the things we want or desire to accomplish.

Do we spin our wheels and sit stuck in one place? Do we proceed with such considerable caution that we are never able to make it to our desired destination?

Maybe it’s a dream, goal, aspiration, wish, intention…call it what you want, it takes motion to get there.

I believe God is “motion-activated” too. I am by no means perfect (and probably less than adequate) in my part of this equation, but I believe He watches to see if WE are willing to get things rolling. Some would say it’s all about just taking the steps of faith, but I think it involves more than just faith to make things happen.

Are we asking for guidance? Are we fervently seeking the right directions? Are we making the first move, knocking, with firm belief that He is right there ready to open the door?

Often we are just overwhelmed by thoughts of what the outcome may be if we decide to step out of our proverbial comfort zone, fears are something we all battle...all of us. How many circumstances can you look back on in your life where fears dictated your next move? Me, way too many to count I’m sure. Fear becomes the beloved companion of complacency. Some fears in life create safe boundaries (and let us not forget under certain circumstances they can help us survive) but left to run amuck, they will leave YOU stuck.

But here’s the thing… dreams, goals, intentions all seem very simple when they remain in our heads, the problem is “simple is not always easy”. Simple solutions usually take work and the steps may not be “easy”. Too many times we never even get off the ground with the things that will have the greatest impact on our lives and the lives of those around us (the ripple effect) because we realize it’s just not going to be easy.

As the calendar pages of my life flip by (anybody happen to see where 2020 and 2021 went ??) I am coming to the realization that the stakes of hesitation continue to grow greater and greater as time passes. What if just once we decided to jump in full force to something, completely unsure of where our actions are going to take us? Something not perfectly planned, not perfectly organized, not perfect at all. Just starting something messy. Wouldn’t that be better than never starting at all?

Isn’t it strange that far too frequently our actions are consistent with the way we see (and judge) ourselves, not the way He sees us? Imagine the freeing power of seeing ourselves and our potential through His eyes! Feel free to see yourself in a superhero cape here.

Of course we want discernment and wisdom to make good choices, that’s where prayer comes in…it allows us a direct and open line to the One who has the answers we are looking for.

Are we seeking and then listening, watching and anticipating a reply? I haven’t yet experienced a thundering voice rolling out of the heavens telling me exactly what I should do (that’d be awesome and also slightly terrifying), but I have experienced His counsel in other ways. It’s come in the form of loving and wise people around me that I trust, it’s come in the form of unanswered prayers for something that I thought I really wanted, often it is a feeling deep in my spirit… you know, those “gut instincts”.

So then what?? You trust. You trust your decision to start messy and not stay idle. You trust that even if you start to wander off the path in the wrong direction that God will gently correct you (sometimes He also uses roadblocks, barricades and guardrails). Just remember He sees you stepping out, putting things in motion, believing in the gifts He gave you and great is His faithfulness to do His part (your purpose, His plan).

Don’t let the fear of the unknown leave you with regrets. Don’t let unmade decisions become burdens you carry.

You are provided grace for your mistakes and new mercies every. single.

morning.

The world needs what YOU have to offer, no one else can provide what you can give in the way that you can give it.

So…. Ask. Seek. Knock.

Then… put it in drive my friend!