“You have circled this mountain long enough.” Deuteronomy 2:3 NAS
“If what you are doing is not working for you, why continue doing so?”
My thoughts today are about “going nowhere fast.”
Sometimes life can leave you dizzy. When you have the feeling of déjà vu and things begin to look all too familiar, the simplest explanation may be that you are going in circles, seeing the same scenery again and again. Been there; done that! It’s possible to make good time but no progress, to stay really busy but not productive. Ever happen to you?
Deuteronomy is Moses’ farewell address to Israel, a reminder of their history. Their 40 years of wandering in a wilderness was not among their shining moments. Today’s verse recounts one of those times when they had been going in circles, round and round in the same place, staying busy but going nowhere fast.
Could that describe this season of your life? Sometimes “going nowhere fast” may describe a person’s career, or their finances, or a marriage, or one’s own spiritual life and growth – expending a lot of effort and energy with little progress to show for it. The Bible describes the situation this way, “The Lord says . . ‘You have planted much but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.’” Haggai 1:5-6 NIV. What a description of futility! Have you ever felt that way? God’s advice to you is the same as to the people to whom this was written, “Give careful thought to your ways!”
Maybe I am just too simple, too practical. But if what you are doing is not working, why continue doing so? Though debated, it is attributed to Albert Einstein (noted physicist and mathematician) to have said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Is it surprising to you how often it is possible for people to do just that? Have you ever done that?
When you don’t have a clear sense of direction and are doing a lot of driving you didn’t intend, taking a lot of time you can’t spare, and burning a lot of costly fuel you can’t afford – stop and ask directions. Your spiritual life does not have to be like that; it shouldn’t be like that. Spiritual life should show progress; progress begins with a sense of direction. You have to know where you are going to know how to get there. “You have circled this mountain long enough; now turn north.” Deuteronomy 2:3 NIV. God is never at a loss as to how you can continue your journey of faith. Job affirmed, “God knows the way that I take.” Read Job 23:10-12 NIV. God sees you as somebody going somewhere to do something of eternal importance and consequence.
God knows exactly what is impeding your progress, and what will advance it. Have you asked yourself what complicates, or even counteracts, every step forward that you try to make spiritually? Or what contributes to measurable progress in matters of spiritual well being?
My prayer for you today is: no effort at God’s direction and on God’s behalf is wasted.