We all have those times in life where we wish the voice of God would audibly speak so loudly there’s no way we could miss it, “THIS IS THE DIRECTION I WANT YOU TO GO.” Then we’d know whether to stay the course or quit and head off in a new direction. Have you ever wished for this kind of supernatural interaction with God?
I have.
We want to know what to do.
Sometimes we stay in a place too long.
But I think the greater loss happens in those times we quit too soon. And we live with this nagging sense of what if. What if I’d persevered one more year, one more month, one more day.
What if David had been so put off by his Dad’s brush off, that he refused to come in from the field and see Samuel? (1 Samuel 16)
What if David had assessed whether or not to face Goliath based on the shadow of his opponent rather than the shadow of the Almighty? (1 Samuel 17)
What if Abigail’s pride or fear had stopped her a few steps shy of bowing low before David? (1 Samuel 25)
Knowing when to stop and when to keep on keeping on is a crucial life lesson. One I want to learn well.
In Matthew 11:28 Jesus encourages us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
I used to get so frustrated when I heard this verse because I thought, I don’t want rest. I want reassurance! I’m burdened by this decision I have to make. I don’t want to mess up my life by missing a cue from you, God.
But the gift of the rest Jesus is offering here is not a spiritual Ambien. The Greek word for this kind of rest is Anapauo which has as one of its definitions: “of calm and patient expectation.”
In other words, Jesus is saying if you come to me, I will take your exhaustion and uncertainty and turn it into a calm expectation.
But how?
My friend Jennifer Rothschild does this enlightening exercise at some of her conferences. She tells the audience to imagine her writing two different words on a large chalkboard. She then speaks the letters as she draws the first word into the air… R-E-S-T. She does the same for the second word… R-E-S-I-S-T. Then she asks what’s the difference?
The difference is, of course, “I.”
I don’t know what to do. I can’t figure this out. I’m worn out. I’ve tried everything I know to do. I’ve given all I have to give.
I’m familiar with these “I” statements because I’ve said them myself.
We can only find Anapauo rest- fresh hope- as we stop running ragged and simply take on the next assignment Jesus gives.
In verse 29 of Matthew 11 Jesus gives us this assignment- take on his yoke and learn from Him. Ask Jesus to show you just the next step. Not ten steps. Not the whole path. Not the Google map with the highlighted route. Just the next step.
Complete that step with excellence and an open, humble heart. Listen and look for all Jesus wants to teach you in this next step.
This is your part of the equation.
But after the assignment, comes the reassurance in verse 30, “my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” We don’t have to have all the answers. We just have to stay connected to the One who does. Where our strength ends is the exact point where His will begin.
This is God’s part of the equation.
I must do all I can do. Then God will do what only He can do. My pastor, Steven Furtick, says, “You bring the natural. God will then bring the super. And that’s what creates supernatural.”
Should I stay? Should I go? Maybe the better question is, “God, what is the next step I’m to take today? I’m going to do my part. And trust the rest with You.”
My Pastor always says it this way, “If God doesn’t give you new orders, the old orders are still in effect.”
Thank you for this post today! I really needed to hear ALL of that!
hello lysa, im katie and im 15 years old, my family and i have recently lost our house to the tournado that hit greene county.I have really been thinking about quiting on God, i dont know what im thinking really i just know i wanted to give up on him cause he made us loose our house.when really he didnt this was just a very hard obsticle to climb over.i know God loves me and i should never give up on him cause he would never do that to us.this was really a blessing or a wake up call to my mother and i. my mother is now going to church and we dont fit as much anymore even tho it is so stressful, andeven tho we have no house i know god will let me stay over at his!! lol
I quit one year ago. I walked away from a church staff position and every day for a year have been asking myself the “what if” questions. It’s been a HARD year. Thanks for your encouraging words today. I needed to hear to stop focusing on the big picture and just do the next steps. I’m obsessed with big pictures.
Lysa,
The Holy Spirit is at work in you. Thank you for being God’s instrument. Today has been a rock bottom day for me. Over two years ago, I discovered my husband was having and affair. I listened to God and stayed. It has not been easy. If fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced so much of the unknown. God has used this to bring me toHis feet and act and walk in faith. I’m human…so I stray sometimes a I have over the past week. I recently lost my job as a teacher…so there is blessing? trial? cross to bear? number two. What a blow…but I know, a blessing.
Over the past 48 hours I have succumbed to the flesh and been consumed with the depression that I have battled for years. I began taking things into my own hands, which are quite clumsy, and had admitted that I haven’t or can’t move past the infidelity. In my heart I know that is not true. I love my 3 children and my husband.
Just as I know I can open the Bible and know it was written for me, your blog is the same way. You inspire me and remind me to listen to God and place my life in His hands. Afterall, I am here for His purpose. Not Gwynne’s. I continue to pray that I have the faith and hope to listen for His call. I know if I stay the course, He will reveal His plan for me.
God Bless you, Lysa.
Great post. That is the very question I’m asking my Lord today.
Great post Lysa and so timely too!! I’d sensed God leading me away from MOPS leadership, but today after our final meeting of the year, I had mixed thoughts. Currently there is no leadership in place, so it might not just be the end of something for me, but all of our moms…anyway I wasn’t home long and pulled up your post for today! I know it wasn’t a coincidence, so praying God will give me the next step and help me let go of some of my worries about what lies ahead, but also reminding me of yesterday’s post…I am not what I do! Thanks for sharing, Jill
Mercy… you say “Sometimes we stay in a place too long.” Isn’t it just so awkward when there is not a clear path ahead as to what is next! Others say “God always calls you to something, not just away from something.” Well, I think he calls us to follow him, not always knowing what the next step is – and that is what I am hearing today from your post. “take on his yoke and learn from Him. Ask Jesus to show you just the next step. Not ten steps. Not the whole path. Not the Google map with the highlighted route. Just the next step.” “Should I stay? Should I go? Maybe the better question is, “God, what is the next step I’m to take today? I’m going to do my part. And trust the rest with You.”
Amen. Thank you for your faithful posts and listening so well!
Very timely indeed! A month or so back, I felt maybe the Lord was leading me to attend the She Speaks Conference this year. I tried for scholarships but it didn’t happen. I kept praying and I thought maybe He just wanted me to be more aware of it this year so I could save up and attend next year. Yes! That was it – all settled – until the next day when He put something in front of me about not letting finances keep you from attending the Conference this year! LOL Isn’t that JUST like Him? Well, hard as it was, I decided to try and raise my own scholarship. I say hard because it is VERY difficult for me to ask people for money. But, I got my letters ready (well, some of them anyway) and sent them out. I have other letters to send but was just having a hard time making myself do it! THEN yesterday, I got an update on my scholarship – because of the GENEROUS donations of others plus what I am going to be able to contribute, I am now only $140 away from having the Conference Fee raised!!! I know it is ALL Him and it was just the boost He knew I needed to get busy getting the rest of the letters sent out. I still don’t know if He wants me to attend this year or just be obedient in trying to raise the funds – either way, I will be happy because I want ONLY His will for me
Thanks again, Lysa, for the wonderful messages you share here! Oh – and I won’t be at the EWomen Conference in B’ham this weekend. I felt the Lord was asking me to take the money I’d saved for that and apply it to my She Speaks Scholarship so I won’t be volunteering this weekend – it made me sad but I have to do my best to be obedient to Him
Wow, I love your statement that the better question maybe to ask what His next step is for us on this day. I know I always like to have a plan and when things happen that throw the plan out the window it is a very confusing time. I also have been asking my Father to show me what the path is and not so much the plan I think I need to have so badly!
When I read this post I knew immediately who I should forward it to. One of my girlfriends and I just had this conversation on Sunday, and I hoped the words you’ve written here would be great comfort and confirmation to a heart that is wondering where to go next and when to “quit” one thing in pursuit of something else. So, I forwarded this post to her this morning and told her I read it with her in mind. Her response was, “Did she write this just for me?” We laughed, via email, and remarked one to another about the faithfulness of God. He always gives us what we need when we need it. This post was what she needed. Thank you!
This is me today. I want to quit trying to be a writer. I want to quit selling on ebay. I want to quit homeschooling. I want to quit being a mom. I want to quit driving. Yes, there’s a very specific, unhappy, recent story to go with each of those statements. All from 3 days.
Your article “Should I Quit” today was perfect timing. Approximately three years ago the Lord removed my high-tech manufacturing managerial position and called me to teach and write. Also, he called my husband to handcraft crosses and to become Chaplain from being a stay-at-home parent. We are on a wonderful journey of spiritual growth, and now the rubber is meeting the road financially. It is very tempting to go back to “Egypt” and command a comfortable salary. However, I KNOW God has a better plan for my life as His Word promises – Jeremiah 29:11. So, thank you for your encouraging article…
Lysa,
This message is even more special after our phone call today. Thank you for writing this post. I’m in that place where I’ve wrestled with resist, all the while knowing I need to rest. Thank you.
I had a conversation with a friend today about decisions she’s trying to make. Funny, how the Holy Spirit prompted me to send this to her yesterday. She answered with a big “AMEN” today after she read it! What a blessing this was to her. Thanks.
Words fail me to express how fitting this word is for me today Lysa…
On Sunday, 28 days into what I was certain would be a 40 day fast, after bleeding fairly heavily for 2 days (something that rarely happens to me at 50…), I hit a wall and realized I had no more grace to continue. And while I felt an absolute peace about not continuing on for the remaining days (I try not to be too caught up in the numbers and simply rely on Him…), there is inevitably a bit of a funk that hits me anytime I come off of an extended season of fasting.
The issue is that I am simply lacking the direction I had been largely seeking Him for. I have absolutely no idea what the Lord wants me to do with my life. I’m 50 years old, I have no children (human ones anyway…), my ministry has come to an abrupt halt (and only really had a chance to get half a leg off the ground…), and I just simply have no idea what the Lord wants me to do with each of my days.
I try to stay as close to Him each day, in daily study of His word and usually a good hour with Him daily, but I feel like there is something more I should be doing, I just have no idea what that is. The hardest part is that my husband (who when we married seemed destined for ministry…), now appears to be in the same boat. I look at him at times and he seems so lost, the steps he claims the Lord is leading him to take often just don’t really make sense to me. And oh, the loathing that just wants to creep up on me and consume me daily…
I find myself dreaming of a better reality: a different home, new friends, a new church (right now we can’t seem to figure out where we belong…). And the only thing I know to do is stay as close to Jesus as possible.
I want to believe that my 28 days of prayer and fasting were not in vain. It’s not as easy to do this at 50 as it was in my 20′s, 30′s or 40′s… And I keep finding myself thinking that in biblical times, people always prayed and fasted when they needed direction or help for their lives.
Well Lord, I’ve laid the groundwork. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take my precious husband Ben and I out of this place that we’ve been in for far too long. Please lead us to a new place in you.
I’m worn out from fasting, clinging to You for help, direction, wisdom and understanding. I still feel absolutely no motivation whatsoever to do much of anything, though I can hardly believe that Your best for me is to remain indoors and isolated for the next years of my life.
Oh how hard it is to endure the Lord’s seasons of silence…
Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.
I love how God works! I have been contemplating this question for weeks now, and Matthew 11:28 just came to my mind yesterday directly from the Holy Spirit. I love the Greek “of calm and patient expectation”. I feel so much more at rest just knowing that all I need to hear right now is the next step. This gives God all the credit! Thank you, Lysa, for sharing this!
Reminds me of something my husband is fond of saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” If we would wait on the Lord and take life or any project just one step at a time, we would be so much more content to stay the course. Some of us (me) are very impatient…so it is a learning process. Thank you for sharing this timely message of encouragement. I am getting my shoes on to take the one more step with Jesus! Blessings!
tomorrow i must turn in the paper stating my intentions for the next school year. i so do not know. i am presently a preschool teacher for an all day mixed age (3-5)
class. all i know is more than anything i want to be where He wants me to me. pray God will definitely show me tonight my next step.
Lysa, looks like this is a question we all ask ourselves at some time in our journey with the Lord. Thank you for a timely post which contained questions I have had on my mind.
Blessings
This email came at a perfect time for my heart to hear it! Thank you!
Lysa,
I must share this with you. Jennifer Rothschild was the guest speaker at my church on Mother’s Day and she used the REST/RESIST exercise towards the end of her awesome message. This morning I was sharing with a friend what Jennifer shared with us about “Rest/Resist”, I thought it might enlighten her because she never gets rest and her life is so unbalanced. I was explaining to her that she must rest and spend time with the Lord so he can direct her steps. As I was hanging up the phone with her I felt a little discourgaged and thought to myself…I think I wasted my breathe, she asks for advice but never applies it. I picked up my phone to check my email and your post was there. As I started to read I became so overwhelmed, it was as if the Lord sent me backup.I sent her the email immedialty, she was speechless herself. What were the odds that you mentioned just what we heard from Jennifer last Sunday? It was not odds it was Jesus our most precious Savior. Thank you so much for allowing the Lord to work thru you! You are such an encouragement to me!!! God Bless.
Lysa, I am reading this around 9pm, and I posted this morning on my blog “When You Feel Like Quitting.” The conclusions we both came to are shockingly the same…reading this post tonight is direct confirmation to what God has spoken to my heart over the last few days. Thanks for this post.
I can’t breathe. This post is so what I need to read tonight. I just made the official decision to pull my oldest kiddo (will be 4th grade) and homeschool him next year. struggled doubted feared fought with this decision. so i’m finally surrendering and doing it. yep. still cant’ breathe. lol
I have to thank you for your article that talked about you praying with a lady with just the words Jesus, Jesus,Jesus over & over again. I have fought attacks of depression and low self-worth all my life, which increased with a divorce after 32 years of marriage. Bible studies, church, prayers, books, all slightly helped but never really gave me any peace. I read your article and started saying Jesus every time I was giving in to Satan and lies. The depression has decreased and I am seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you so much!!!!
Oh my, did I ever need to hear this! Thank you for your words.
Thanks for all the great encouragement. I just read this passage last week and I love how you stated it again as a great reminder.
Lysa: Thank you for the encouraging words. I feel for the first time in my life that I will win the race for weight loss. Just when I felt like quitting, this email came in just, at the right time. What a “coincidence”. The Lord uses you in such a powerful and loving way. God bless you. Thank you again.
This couldn’t have been more perfect timing for me. Thank you, Lord. I DO feel like quitting – a few things. But it’s more like “running” not quitting – and I don’t want to run from God’s will for me. I know that if I’m being sifted, there must be something to sift. Help me to learn, Lord, and to receive all that YOU have for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
AMEN!!!!
Timely message for me! It seems God is always trying to teach us something. Learning to completely rely on Him and not on self or spouse (or anyone else for that matter) is a hard lesson to learn!
Oh how i always feel the need for the ‘google map with the highlighted route’! To have lifes path all planned out, every step of the way and to be able to see where i’m going. My friend Chris, at Church the other day was talking about how God is a ‘lamp unto our feet’ and how a lamp doesn’t illuminate the whole pathway but just the next step or 2. We’re to trust Him for our next steps. He will always go before us. ‘Papa’, in the book The Shack, went before Mac into the dark cave when they went to bring Missy home. Even tho it was dark and Mac had an idea of where they may be heading, Papa was in front leading him 1 step at a time thru it all.
You just helped me make my life SO much easier. Thanks for the post.
Hi, Lisa. Good post. Psalm 119 says that “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” The Lord usually shows us just the next step, doesn’t He? He wants to see obedience. All I have to do is take the next step. If God showed us the big picture, we would be overwhelmed because of our fears. I ask myself this question “What is the next right thing to do?” I usually know the answer. If I trust and take the next step, and another step is revealed, then I know the answer to “Should I quit?”. It is all so simple, but we are the ones who make it complicated. Trust and obey, there is no other way. Thanks, Lisa and God bless you in your journey to faith!
Quick request:
SInce being introduced to your blog a few weeks ago, I’ve shared two of your posts on Facebook.
I would appreciate it if one of the thumbnail options was simply a picture of you, as sometimes the book title seems irrelevant.
If that doesn’t fly in the face of your marketing strategy, would you think about providing a headshot as one of the thumbnail options when we share your blog?
Thanks so much!
Jenna
I’m glad that God is super! And that I can be natural!
Lysa,
Just today, during an emotional conversation with my husband, he asked, “What do you want to do?” And in desperation, I answered, “I want to quit.” This devotion really hit home. I was forgetting to focus on the next step God has planned for me. I was forgetting to overlook the failures of the past and look at what I can do today. I was forgetting to spend time in prayer. I had lost my focus. Thank you for helping me put things back into perspective. Bless you.
Thank you for this post, Lysa! I so needed to hear this today. My husband is planting a church, and I have been feeling discouraged and ready to give up. Thanks for encouraging me to hang on longer. Please pray for me to stay connected to Jesus and rely on Him even in hard times.
Perfect timing, as usual. Thank you!
Today was the first time ihad been on your blog and this is the perfect message for what i am going through right now. GOD is so GREAT, i asked what do i do and he sent me here to read your post. I am currently far from home and i have no home church or anyone to fellowship with. I pray day and night asking for guidance and today i was reminded that i could find it if i just look. Here you are. thank you
What a wonderful encouraging message–just take the next step.
I was so blessed to hear you at the E-conference in JC, TN. My friend bought your book Made to Crave and was standing in line with her so she could get the book signed. I am so thankful that I was asked if I wanted to be signed up for your daily blogs…they have been a tremendous blessing. This one about quitting was so timely. 3 years ago my husband lost his job and although that was difficult the loss brought him back to the Lord. It has been encouraging to see him grow in his faith as he walks through this difficult time. This week I know he has been discouraged because things don’t seem to be changing for the good financially…I know the Lord can be trusted and we cannot quit no matter how dark this seems. Thank you for being used by the Lord. I am blessed that the Lord allowed His servant (you!) to cross my path! May you be blessed!
I have come back to this post and reread it a hundred times. I have even emailed it on to my sweet friends. The Lord has me in the place where I have felt everyone of your words deeply. I needed to hear this in a way I could never fit in this comment box. I just have to say thank you!! I wish I could explain how perfect these words are for me right now, but I am too overwhelmed to explain. Just what the Lord wanted me to hear and know!! THANK YOU!!
Lysa, This was the missing piece for me! I actually wrote a short post on REST myself today and was praying about my own personal time of rest. Thanks to you and to Jennifer who I also read and follow I have the instructions I was seeking… Keep going yourself.. many are blessed every time you do!
God has used you today to bring a message I needed to hear.
I knew this book is designed to target the women to renew their faith in God involving weight loss problem…I am Deaf man and I got book for free among with devotional book and I read, this book impact me big time. I have been Christian for many year and been struggling with weight loss. Your book is very simple with full of strong point, I thank God for using you!
I could write a book on this alone. Motherhood threw me into a tail spin. I thought everyone would understand me cutting back to take care of my family. Not so. That has been my battle now – career/motherhood – over and over again.