Lord, Why?

“Peter said to him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow you now?’” (John 13:37a)

One of the most frequent conversations I have with you surrounds your desire to determine God’s will for your life. The specific issues vary, but generally include decisions about changing jobs, moving, entering into relationships, determining if God is calling you into ministry, what to do about a particular problem you are facing, or family decisions of one sort or another. We can all identify with what it’s like when we have a tough decision to make, seeking God’s will as we consider our options.

In the passage of scripture cited above, the Apostle Peter wanted to do something. He wanted to follow Jesus. What’s wrong with that? Yet just prior to Peter’s statement, Jesus told him that he could not follow him, that he would follow him “afterward.” As I considered Jesus’ words to Peter, it struck me that there are times when we are unable to understand why we cannot do what we want to do. There are times when God introduces into our lives what Oswald Chambers called the “blank space.” What I’ve come to learn in my own life is that when God introduces the “blank space,” the worst thing for me to do is to fill it. The “blank space” is not a time to act, but rather a time to wait.

In that light, would you agree that one of the hardest lessons for us to learn is that God engineers our blank spaces? Blank spaces are for a purpose; perhaps to teach us something, to humble us or to allow God to work in the unseen so that when the time is right, everything fits together for our good.

Here now is the tough part for us to embrace. We make a mistake when we run ahead of God’s guidance during the blank spaces. In other words, whenever there is doubt, the best thing for us to do is to wait.

A closer look at the text of John 13 suggests that Peter’s statement, “Why can I not follow you?” was predicated on emotions instead of certainty. The basic principle to consider is this; never act on what you feel to be God’s will based on impulse or emotions. If you do, the risk is high for making a mistake that may take years to fix. When it is a question of the providential will of God, the best thing we can do is to wait for God to act. We must never fill in the “blank spaces” based on our own effort.

I wonder how many of us reading these words are presently experiencing the “blank space.” If that describes you, no matter the decision you need to make, my counsel to you is simple. Whenever there is doubt, wait. God always makes his will for us clear. He is not a God of confusion, but rather, leads his children in the good way for his glory and our good. May these thoughts bring confidence to you when God says to you, “Not now; wait.”