When Confusion Becomes The Refuge Of The Unwilling
“…God is not the author of confusion…”
1 Corinthians 14:33
Today, I am speaking to those who know God’s will, but use confusion as an excuse to not do it. The truth is, God’s speaks very plainly to each one of us that will listen. He speaks clearly, and we do hear Him correctly most of the time. However, when God’s commands seem at odds with what we think we can do or, more to the point, what we want to do, we sometimes feign confusion. Obviously, if we don’t understand God’s will, how can we follow it? If we can’t know which way to turn, isn’t it best not to go forward at all?
God does not change
Therefore, confusion tends to bring everything in our lives to a standstill. When He speaks clearly but we do not obey, our Father does not speak a second time. We are like the children of Israel walking around and around in the wilderness, while God waits for us at the river Jordan. Even as we struggle in our make-believe unbelief, God’s original will waits for us until we’re finally ready to obey.
A simple truth is this: Obedience does not require understanding. We don’t have to know the end from the beginning, because God already does. Our Lord God isn’t waiting for us to approve His plan for our lives before we implement it, He just leads and expects us to follow.
But, how can I decide?
Fabricated confusion only leads to manufactured inaction. It is a subtle form of unbelief leading to disobedience. We reason that if we don’t know which way to turn, we aren’t responsible to do anything God says. Conversely, when we obey through trusting His voice, we move forward and everything works out just fine.
Feigned confusion is unwillingness in disguise. When we don’t want to do what God says, pretending we don’t know what He is saying gives us a plausible reason to disobey. The truth is, though, that our confusion is often more about how to accomplish God’s will, not about what He says to us. Let’s face it, our Lord speaks pretty clearly to us personally, we just think it’s more than we can handle.
Let God lift us out of our ruts
In conclusion, confusion is not a refuge, it is a rut. Being confused, real or not, stops all forward motion in God. The simple cure for confusion is to go back to what we know God said and then do His will completely. Simple obedience, trusting that God knows best, restores certainty to our lives, because God always blesses what He authors.
Podcast: Simple Obedience
Speak Lord by Victoria Orenze
(Pure Seraph)