Sometimes only one choice is best when you feel you must act now

By Dean Collins

Over the years I’ve learned that sometimes immediate action is required. There’s an internal prompt that says it’s time to act. There’s a crisis, sometimes real and sometimes simply imagined, that needs immediate attention. But I’ve also learned not much can be accomplished immediately. Most problems require time, planning, good execution, and other people to find lasting solutions. But when we discover the crisis, we feel immediate action is required.

Sometimes we act when there’s really no crisis. You hear one of the kids or grandkids suddenly scream, so you immediately go to check on them. Their situation may be serious, or they might simply be frustrated by something that pushed their emotions over the edge. Many times that something is just fatigue. Or you might wake up tomorrow and immediately head to the coffee pot. The desire for caffeine may be strong, but urgency may not actually be needed.

We’ve become a culture that wants whatever we want when we want it and how we want it. Even in the customer-friendly and speedy drive-through at Chick-fil- A, someone is still taking time to cut the chicken, season the chicken, cook the chicken, and place it on the bun with pickles. And before they started your last order, someone was raising chickens somewhere, and delivery trucks brought supplies based on orders placed earlier. I don’t think their innovation center has invented an instant button just yet. Maybe one day.

Time alone

Sometimes I get to the middle of the day, and after numerous meetings and issues to solve, my brain simply can’t do any immediate thinking. In those moments I have discovered that the immediate thing to do is follow the example of Jesus. After a full day of activity meeting the needs of thousands, he immediately sent his disciples off in a boat and sent the large crowds home. What he needed was time alone.

Jesus went off by himself. He didn’t go simply to isolate. He went to connect with his Father in prayer. It seems that being alone with the Father is better than simply trying to go it alone. Isolation might feel good for a while, but it isn’t a good long-term strategy. We were created for relationships. The original and most important relationship is with our Father in Heaven. Once we connect with God in prayer, capacity for relationships with others increases. Prayer also connects us to the source of wisdom that allows us to think, plan, and discover solutions to the problems we are facing.

Fear and fatigue

After Jesus spent time alone with the disciples, he took the shortcut across the water. As he neared the boat sometime after 3:00 a.m., Jesus saw the disciples struggling against the wind. Jesus also noticed the fear on their faces as he miraculously strolled on the surface of the water. Fear and fatigue create strange imagination. They were sure a ghost was approaching and they cried out with fear when Jesus immediately spoke to them. In this moment they learned that sometimes we go to God when we are overwhelmed, and sometimes he initiates and comes to us.

When Peter heard the voice of Jesus, he chose to double-check. “Lord, if it is you then command me to come to you on the water. “ Jesus responded with just one word, “Come.” I’ve read this story many times. When I read it I always jump to the assumption that Peter took his eyes off Jesus and looked at his circumstances and then began to sink. The passage actually says Peter walked to Jesus. He responded to the command with success. I suppose they could have had a moment together standing face-to-face on the water, discussing the events of the day. But when Peter got to Jesus, he then reverted to his fear. And in panic cried out for the Lord to save him.

All the way

Jesus moved past words and took hold of Peter, pulling him out of the waves and helping Peter get into the boat. When Jesus comes to our aid he will not take us halfway. He will take us all the way through the fear, through the difficulties, and walk with us until the situation or the sea has become calm. Jesus will never abandon us in the storms of life.

Most of the time we don’t need immediate help. The more we practice the rhythms of taking time to walk away from the noise and the problems to spend time with the Father, the more confident we will become that in our hour of need Jesus will act with compassion and urgency to meet our needs. And he will never abandon us. He will stay with us, walk with us, and if necessary carry us until the storms have passed.

If you have time for only one immediate act, choose to go directly to our Father in heaven. He is waiting to hear from you.

Your time with God’s Word
Matthew‬ ‭14:22-33‬ ‭ESV

Photo by Andy Beales on Unsplash

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