Am I Just Spinning My Wheels?

Do you ever have those days – or weeks – where you feel like God has something more in store for you? There is a restlessness of spirit and a lack of contentment. Nothing is particularly wrong, but daydreams of new and exciting opportunities float through your mind a bit too often. You can’t quite put your finger on what’s going on inside, but you start to feel like you just might be stuck.

Those feelings are normal – at least they are for me. I can dream. I can work. I can play. I can simply enjoy life, but there are times when I find myself bored and restless. Nothing is really wrong. Just a bit of the blahs. It is in those moments that God reminds me that he knows right where I should be, and that perhaps I just simply need to be.

• Be kind and loving
• Be intentional
• Be growing
• Be humble
• Be faithful

It is so easy to try and rush God’s timetable or replace it with our own timeline, but learning to love others takes time and opportunity. Christian growth takes study, perseverance and practice. Building relationships takes intentionality, encouragement and understanding. True life change takes humility, courage and grace. While effective ministry takes sacrifice, love and faithfulness.

Often, we don’t see how God is using our daily lives as a witness to the world around us. It can take years to see spiritual fruit in our own lives as well as in the lives of those we have invested in. Our faith journey takes just that - faith. Sounds simple, right? Simple, yes, but that’s not how we often live. After all, it would be much easier to take the next step if God would just ‘write it in the clouds,’ right?

But, where’s the faith in that?

Stepping out in faith often means just that. Having ‘blind’ faith. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” But, we want to see, Lord. We want to see growth. We want to hear exciting testimonies. We want to witness positive change. We want to feel like we’re being used for God’s glory, right?

A verse nestled into Paul’s 2 letter to Timothy shares a great truth of faith that has personally impacted my life. It says “God’s word is not chained.” (2:9b) Wow! Paul was imprisoned when he wrote those words of proclamation. He was in chains. He was stuck. His passion for the Gospel was still as strong as ever, and yet I wonder if Paul felt like his personal impact had been diminished. Even in this tough situation, Paul did the best with what he had available to him and encouraged Timothy with these principles -  

• God’s word is not limited by our circumstances.
• We can endure anything so that others may come to know Christ. (2:10)

What great words of inspiration! How humbling it is that we each have the opportunity to share God’s word in our communities, in our churches and in our homes. It doesn’t matter how mundane our lives may be, how restless we are, if we’re feeling stuck or are simply wondering if we are spinning our wheels. God has a plan for you and me. He knows the outcome, and we can trust him to work out his will in our lives every day.

May we each take a leap of faith today and embrace the fact that God’s word is not limited by our circumstances, because “God’s word is not chained!” May we each proclaim the truth of the Living God - in word and deed - no matter what circumstances we may find ourselves spinning.

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