The Ordinary Nowhere - By Rohadi

When Lucy first emerged from the wardrobe into the land of Narnia, her first encounter was a lit lamp post, out of place in the middle of the forest. It didn’t matter which direction Lucy took beyond the lamp, it served as confirmation for the path home when she decided to return.

Christians often dwell in the tension of direction, especially when it comes to making important decisions. It’s human nature to consider all of the options in the wake of potential change. It’s also human nature to preserve status quo than to branch out into the unknown. It’s safer to do nothing. That’s why most potential heroines are just that, potential heroines, opting to remain in the confines of the Ordinary World over the risk of crossing the threshold into the Special World.

We want to make the “right” choice, ensuring we hear clearly from God before moving. But unfortunately, this leads to a space where we become frozen in place, never venturing beyond, “I’ll pray about it”.

We pray for the obvious, the proverbial “call" from God, to confirm beyond doubt where we go next. We’re hoping for a literal voice, a phone call from the heavens, something so obvious it makes our decision and direction easy. In our wait for ease we stay put. 

It’s so easy to stay put.

There are certain times of pause and wait, but we must balance these times with the consistent drive to move forward. The mere act of movement, not necessarily the "right" move, is a key to biblical calling. There are a few literal callings in scripture. The church receives one in Ephesians 4. You and I receive a calling at the end of Matthew 28. Then we have the foundational call as believers in John, to love one another. 

What if we’ve received all the calling we need, and what’s left is the movement to “Go”? Could it be that God's already given the pieces we need to make choices as we go? And that our equipping is reliant upon us taking the first step along the new path? 

Maybe we make change harder than it has to be? 

But then doubt emerges and we invariably ask again and again, “which path is the right path?!” So we await confirmation from God and the cyclical cycle of staying put begins again. 

I suppose we can wait. God does speak in mysterious ways but consider this. The next time you’re facing the fork in the road mulling the options consider Lucy. She had no path.

What if we’ve been given all of the pieces we need to choose direction and all that’s left is to, “go”? What if all we get as we go are tantalizing lamp posts along the way confirming that regardless of which path we take God will follow our choice?

She had no path, only the will to move into the allure of the unknown. 

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Rohadi blogs at his website www.rohadi.com. He released an adult coloring book last year called, Soul Coats. Recently, he co-launched a new church plant in Calgary called, Cypher Church.