It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do

It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do… than to face the responsibilities of not doing it.
-- B. J. Miller

A few days ago I had a doctor’s appointment. I made this appointment a while ago so I was well prepared for it, laying out our clothes the night before and setting the alarm so we wouldn’t be rushed. The morning of my doctor’s visit, we followed our regular got-somewhere-to-be routine and left the house in plenty of time. I got GG where she needed to be and had roughly 50 minutes before I had to be at my doctor’s appointment.

Since I had so much time to spare, I decided to take a different route than the one I usually took to get to the doctor’s office. I believed this route would be shorter – it wouldn’t take me around the city like the other route did, and although it was an unfamiliar route, I knew that my keen sense of direction would guide me and still get me there in enough time. I even had enough time to stop and get coffee, even though I’d already had 2 cups.

… even though my intuition told me to go the route I knew.

Funny thing about intuition – sometimes its infusion into your thoughts is so swift and subtle, you disregard it. I presumed that thinking about the other route was just me doubting my ability to figure out the new route. Besides, I had plenty of time to work it out. So, on I drove.

… and on… and on… and on… and… on…

An hour and 10 minutes later, I stood at the doctor’s receptionist’s desk rescheduling my appointment because I’d missed it.

Had I simply – and I mean SIMPLY – obeyed my instincts – God’s gentle, divine, and all-knowing prompting – a ride that should have only taken 20 minutes would not have taken a full hour! If I had followed my first thought/that still quiet Voice, I would not have gotten lost and had to double back and sit in long lines of traffic. Because I did not follow the holy urging in my gut/center, I not only spilled the piping hot coffee on my newly dry cleaned coat, I have to wait a whole ‘nother month to get in to see the doctor!

Bet I’ll be obedient next time!

Or will I?

See, I have this faulty tendency to rely on my own thinking, my own understanding, often forgetting that Elohim composes all the details. I forget that even the small inner voice that beckons beneath all the “stuff” of my life is Elohim calling out for me to follow Him at every moment. Sometimes the faith I have in myself often erroneously displaces the faith I have in Elohim, and, of course, those are the times I end up getting lost, going the wrong way, doing hasty/careless/dense things, and having to do them all over again. It seems I have to bump my head in order to learn my lessons instead of just being faithful and obedient in the first place.

Geez! When will I learn? Hopefully I got it now. Or, at least I’m getting it.

My mishap is a very simple example of one of the parables Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount – building on rock instead of sand (Matthew 7:24-27). Trusting my own thoughts and understanding is like building a house on sand that floods and gets sucked under when the storms come. I’m flawed, susceptible to selfishness, and have no knowledge of the whole picture – I’m human. But obeying God and relying solely on His commandments is the rock upon which my house/prosperity/arriving on time at the doctor’s office is built.

God told me which way to go so that I’d not lose my way and be saved. He didn’t just tell me that for the big stuff but for all things. It stands to reason, if I can listen to, trust, and obey Him Who is perfect in knowledge/speaks from heaven/gives me counsel/is above and over all – even and especially in the small things – certainly my faith and obedience are with Him in all things.