August 1st, 2023.
What’s God Telling You To Do?
Often in life, we find ourselves asking God what He wants from us. What do you want me to do? How should I react in this situation? Where should I set down this fear and anxiety?
Life would be easier if there were billboards along the side of the road with personalized messages for us, answering all of these questions. The bad news is that’s not how our walk with God works. The good news is that God has other ways of communicating with us, one of the primary ways being His word.
An example of this comes from the first few verses of Psalm 37, which I’ve repeatedly returned to over the last six months. There may not be a billboard, but we see that God has given us some powerful instructions on how to live and what He wants from us…
“Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong;”
– Psalm 37:1
“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.”
– Psalm37:3
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
– Psalm 37:4
“Commit your way to the Lord;”
– Psalm 37:5
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;”
– Psalm 37:7
All of these verses point back to one theme: Confidence.
As a business owner, a husband, a dad, a son, and as a man, I spent the first two-thirds of my life chasing confidence in many areas of my life. I wanted to feel like I was enough as a husband and a father. I wanted to feel like I belonged in the conversations I was having at work. I wanted to feel like I measured up as a leader. I wanted to feel like I was making the grade and keeping up in the world’s eyes.
Over and over again, chasing confidence led me to chasing the wrong things—success, money, respect, titles, accolades, and attaboys. I wanted to be seen, valued, and in some cases, to be put on a pedestal. Over time, the chasing became exhausting.
Then, I came to realize that my confidence comes from one place and one place only – from God. His message for us at the beginning of Psalm 37 is clear. Find your confidence in Me.
Do not fret before Me.
Trust Me.
Delight in Me.
Commit your ways to Me.
Be still before Me.
Wait patiently on Me.
Find your confidence in Me.
As men, the world attempts to eat away at our confidence every day. Sometimes it chips away at us aggressively, and other times, the wearing away comes in the form of ocean saltwater that crashes against our shores and erodes our coastlines over years and decades. We battle that voice on our shoulder that tells us we’re not enough, we’re not keeping up, and that we should keep chasing what the world has for us – that what the world offers will build us up and make us confident.
It won’t.
Instead, we lean into our Father. As sons of God, we approach Him expectantly. We trust Him, delight in Him, and commit our ways to Him. We make time to get still, and we practice patience. And we know that He has everything we need.
If you’re anything like me, you need other men around you to remind you of these truths from time to time. When life’s challenges show up at work and home, we can find ourselves questioning God and if He is who He says He is. In those moments, the counsel of other believing men can be what points us back to truths like Psalm 37. Sometimes, when we’re tempted to chase our confidence, we need another man to remind us who we are and who we serve. It’s in those moments that iron truly does sharpen iron.
Today, ask yourself, “Where does my confidence come from?” Spend some time with that. Wrestle with the tough questions, and ask God to show you how He wants you to show up, living life His way.
