What Isn’t Given Is Gotten

I’m not sure about y’all, but I’m totally for New Year’s resolutions. I’ve made quite a few for myself, actually. From my nutrition, to my physical fitness, to reading more books, to being more intentional with my time with God, to being a more Godly wife— I made resolutions in almost every category. I think the freshness of a new year is just fun! It’s cool to just reflect and be gentle on yourself while also still holding yourself accountable when it comes to breaking poor or average habits and making better ones. In fact, as I was reading my devotional by Oswald Chambers, it read, “Before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges.” 

It got me thinking about how true it is. How many times has God tried to whisper to or nudge us, give us a feeling in our spirit that we ignore, just for things to crash and burn. If we’re moving just a mile too fast in the wrong direction, He’ll give us a more clear opportunity to course correct by recognizing He may not be on this road with me… Let’s meet back up with Him.

Of course, it’s God, and He’ll meet you wherever you end up if you end up going too far, but if He can intercept before then, He’ll usually give you a sign that it’s a good time to check-in with Him. When you’re at a cross roads with how to handle those explosions, make sure you’re not abandoning His guidance at a time He really wants you to tap into it. We have free will, and He is extremely kind to not force His hand on us, but sometimes, because He’s so kind, He’ll give us a heads up, a sign, a conviction before He lets us commit to desertion. While it may be Him trying to get our attention, it’s also Him learning about where we are spiritually. 

Remember Adam’s reaction in the garden, after he and Eve ate fruit from the forbidden tree? In Genesis 3:7-8 it reads, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” They hid. They did something God had warned them against, and they felt a conviction. Rather than walking towards Him, they turned away. The Word continues in Genesis 3:9, “But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” 

I’m going to take a moment here to appreciate the complexity of this question. Anyone who knows even a little bit of their Bible knows we serve a simple yet verbally complex God. When Jesus was in fleshly form, He spoke in parables any time He would teach. It was intended to separate those who knew Him from those who did not, because only those who allowed the Spirit to dwell inside of them were able to understand and receive what was said. There were even Pharisee’s and Rabbi’s that found Him blasphemous because of their confusion of what was being preached. But his disciples had a heart that translated his riddles into words to be lived by. “We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood,” 1 John 4:6.

So when God had asked Adam, ‘Where are you?’ we must recognize the multifaceted question as its before us. Adam was just exposed to sin for the very first time. He took the first dance with the devil. He aided and abetted the most heinous crime to have yet faced the earth. He and Eve were exposed to a reality they were not created to live in. Feeling things they were never supposed to feel. God asking where he was, was much more spiritual than it was physical. He knew where they were, He’s the Creator of the universe, to include Adam— his whereabouts were not unknown to God. It was a moment for Adam to use his mouth to explain what had happened, and where he was. Spiritually.

How often does God need to ask you where you are? Is your body still enough to respond to his gentle nudges? Is your mind quiet enough to hear his soft whispers? What is God needing to make so big, bold, and loud to get your attention away from, or maybe even towards? When we don’t give our attention to Him, He will find a way to get it. Let’s make this the year of stillness. Quietness. Peace and trust. Trust that anything you run away from that God wrote your name on, is going to bring you far more fulfillment than anything else you could possibly be running towards. Have an appetite for only what He’s blessed, and forget the rest. No more running, no more hiding. Expose yourself to Him completely, and let Him be your compass.