Everybody, Always

I’ve failed. From His point of view, that all rolls up into an unspoken
whisper from Him I can almost hear saying, “You’ve got this.” His
biggest priority isn’t removing failure as an option but reminding me He
loves me as I try. There’s a verse in the Bible that says, “Do not despise
these small beginnings.” I love that. It’s a reminder to me God doesn’t
just value the big endeavors that work and He isn’t afraid we’ll fail;
instead, He delights in our attempts.
God knows we won’t do everything picture-perfect either. If we’re
being honest, our mess-ups outnumber our successes, probably by a wide
margin. More than once, I’ve been a little too close to the rocks and a
little out of position. I’ve come in a little hot, gone a little long, or fallen
a little short in the things I’ve attempted.
But God hasn’t been shouting instructions to me as I’ve made
mistakes because He doesn’t need to. His silence isn’t indifference; it’s
engagement. He isn’t quiet because He’s run out of things to say or is
scared about the outcome. It’s because He already believes in me, just as
much as He knows the outcome. He already believes in you too. He’s so
confident we already know what to do next that He’s willing to be silent
even when we ask for His voice. He doesn’t care as much as we do
whether we perform perfectly or not. He just wants us to be His while we
do it.
Most of us don’t need more instructions; we simply need someone
who believes in us. If we’re fortunate, God will surround us with friends
who know us so well they’ve stopped trying to control our conduct with
endless instructions and instead trust that God is at work in our lives,
even if He’s doing things we don’t yet understand.
It’s perfectly normal and okay to feel afraid and confused and
stationary. It happens to all of us at one time or another. We shouldn’t be
surprised when we don’t understand what a God who says He surpasses
all understanding is doing. God doesn’t want us to get stuck scratching
our heads or overanalyzing our circumstances. He doesn’t send in all the
plays to get us out of our funk, and He doesn’t carpet-bomb us with