June 19th will mark 10 years since I rededicated my life to Christ, and shortly thereafter will be the 10 year anniversary of God calling me into ministry. This decade has had so many ups and downs, lots of “I laugh so I don’t cry” and numerous: 

• “God what are you doing right now?!” 
• “This is what you wanted for me?”
• “Why are you leading me here?!” 
• “Where do you want me to go?”

I’m sure that we all have asked these questions a time or two in moments that might not be our best. When I have asked them, I had been, and still sometimes am, searching for God’s direction for my future. 

When we talk about God’s direction/provision/His will, we are actually often seeking for clarity on what’s coming next. Clarity is fantastic when you have it, don’t get me wrong, but it can easily distract us from what we really should be seeking out. 

There’s a quote by Mother Teresa that has changed my mindset when it comes to asking God for clarity. A man once came up to Mother Teresa and asked for her to pray for him to have clarity from God. She simply responded with, “I will not pray for clarity for you. Clarity is the crutch of the Christian. I will pray trust for you, that your trust will increase.” 

…what a gut punch!

Because we all do this right? We all desire to know what is just around the corner or what may be in store for our future. And the tricky part to this, is that this desire “to know” can grow from a good place like excitement and the ambition to be prepared. Yet – seeking out clarity for the next step can often cause us to miss out on where God has us. 

Yes – this is a spiritual “Stop and smell the roses” devo – you’re welcome 🙂

If we’re being honest, we often seek out clarity because we don’t trust God with making the plans. Or if we do trust in His plans, we don’t trust in His timing. When we don’t trust in His timing, we often seek out the next step prematurely so that we know it is indeed on the way. 

This tends to be me when I think about the future. Seeking clarity for me isn’t about knowing what’s coming up, it’s seeking out that something is coming. If you are anything like me, you know that this is a tricky place to be, and I’m so glad God knew we would need reminders in His Word for this exact situation:

• His timing is perfect (Is. 60:22).
• His timing is intentional (Ecc. 3:11).
• His plans are for good (Rom. 8:28).
• His plans will be made complete (Phil. 1:6).

So – God perfectly and intentionally placed you where you are for your good and your growth! Seek to grow your trust, not your need to know what God has in store. He will make known your next steps in His timing, so be present in the place God has you for right now. The future will come in His time, but the present is already here. Enjoy it the best you can:)