The Next Right Thing

(Photo from Pinterest)

     Imagine a scene.

     Imagine having a blindfold on, imagine being in the dark, in a room full of confusing background noises and things competing for your attention. People are pulling at you, yelling at you. There are a thousand possibilities as to what is beyond your body, in the world you can’t see, but you have no clue what they are. You have no clue what to do. 

     Now, stop imagining, because you’re living it: this is what life feels like a lot of the time.

     Even when we’re following Jesus, it can seem like we’re in the dark, with that blindfold securely around our eyes, with no clue of what to do next. That’s kind of what my life feels like, if I’m being honest: I’m in flux. I don’t know what to do or what my next step is. I’ve been in flux for a while. Let me tell you, flux is not a comfortable place to be. If you felt anxiety just thinking about that first paragraph, imagine the stress that comes from living it. 

     And I’m sure I’m not alone. 

     As much as we humans like to pretend like we’ve got it all together, I’d like to think that...none of us do, really. Sure, we have our goals: one person wants to be married. One person wants a dream job. One person wants kids. One person wants to move. There could be a hundred different things that we want. And when we encounter roadblocks on these “big dreams,” it can feel…

     Terrifying.

     Like the blindfold is just tightening into a noose. 

     Like we might never be able to rip it off our faces and see what’s in front of us. 

     And, the thing is: we can’t. 

     Not really. 

     Because in life, we can’t see what’s around the corner. The truth is that we don’t even know going to happen within the next minute, let alone the next day...the next month...the next year. Remember the Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21)? The Rich Fool had all sorts of grand plans for himself: but God told him that very night he would die. 

     So what are we to do when we don’t know what to do?

     We do the next right thing.

     A song that God has really been speaking to me through lately doesn’t come from a worship band, but from Frozen 2. It’s Anna’s song: “The Next Right Thing.” Like I said before, my life right now is in flux. The blindfold is completely on tight. I don’t know what my next step is, or what it even should be. But I know that I must keep praying and “do the next right thing.”

     So, what is “the next right thing”?

     I can’t look at you and tell you what the next right thing is for you. I mean, if I could do that, I would have done that for my own life a long time ago. But there are certain things that we need to do—and none of them are particularly ground-breaking.

• Pray. I wanted to start this section by saying: “when in doubt, pray, pray, and pray some more.” But the truth is, there is so much more to praying than just when you are in doubt. This is a spiritual discipline that should never be overlooked. When you pray, you can receive a peace that goes beyond understanding. That doesn’t mean that you’re going to get what you pray for—that would make God more like a spiritual vending machine than God—but it does mean that you will feel the comfort that God is in control. That doesn’t mean bad things won’t happen to us, because we live in a fallen world. God said that the consequence of sin is a broken world. But while He never promises that He will save us from every bad thing that could happen to us, He does promise to never leave us. He does promise that, if we seek Him, His presence will always be with us. As Anna sings: “But a tiny voice whispers in my mind/You are lost/Hope is gone/But you must/Go on/And do the next right thing.” We all have those voices in our head that will tell us hope is gone when bad things happen, when prayers don’t get answered, or when we feel utterly lost in our own life. But by praying, we are opening up ourselves to God, to feel His peace, His knowledge, and His comfort as He tells us that we can go on. He will not leave or forsake us—and we cannot leave or forsake praying and believing in Him. 
• Bible verses: Jeremiah 29:12—“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”
• 1 John 5:14—“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”
• Ephesians 6:18—“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
• Read the Bible. Along with praying, this is a spiritual discipline that we need to cultivate in our life. We need to get into the habit of reading the Bible to see what God says about issues. One reason that we can feel lost in the world is that we have drifted away from God and His clear-cut messages. By reading His Word, we are able to remind and reassure ourselves of what God promises and His Truth. But, even if you read the Bible every day, you will always find something new. Why? Because God is always revealing something in it. You can read the same verses 4 times and, on the 5th time, get something out of it that you hadn’t before. You can never say, “Well, I’ve read the Bible once (or twice). I think I know everything about it.” You can never stop learning, never stop growing from reading the Bible. Because although it doesn’t change, you do. God will always have something new to teach you.
• Bible verses: Hebrews 4:12— “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
• 2 Timothy 3:16-17—“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
• Matthew 4:4—“Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’”
• Listen. Humans are, honestly, quite prideful and selfish. And we often treat God like a genie or come to Him only with requests or when things are dire. And when we do pray, we often think only of “me, me, me.” “God, bless me with this…” “God, help me do that…” In a subtle way, that’s our way of telling God what to do. Of saying: “God, I think I know what’s best in this situation, so let me tell You how I want this scenario to play out, m’kay?” So sometimes, as hard as it is in prayer, we have to shut up and listen. We need to stop telling God what to do and start listening to what He’s telling us to do. Now, I don’t have a formula for this, either. I can’t tell you what God’s voice or nudges will look or sound like to you, because they’re unique to the individual. Just like the lessons God teaches us are customized for us, so is the way that He can talk to us. I’m sure a million other people can listen to “The Next Right Thing” from a cartoon movie and not think anything about it. But that was a way that God spoke to me. So...just listen. Listen for the unexplainable. The tugging in your soul that lets you know what comes next. As the song says: “Then I’ll make the choice/To hear that voice/And do the next right thing.” We must choose to listen to God.
• Bible verses: Psalm 46:10—“Be still and know that I Am God.”
• Luke 11:28—“Blessed are those that hear the Word of God and obey it.”
• James 1:22—“Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Obey it.”
• Talk. This is a tricky part to balance, to be honest. A lot of people do not want to talk about their problems, for a myriad of reasons. Maybe they are too filled with pride and don’t want to show weakness. Maybe they don’t think anyone will care. Maybe they feel like they don’t have anyone to talk to (and, trust me, pick your confidante wisely—a godly person). Maybe they feel like, by sharing, they’ll be burdening other people. Sometimes, people talk about themselves too much and forget to listen. Sometimes their talking turns into gossip. Sometimes people put too much stock in what other people think or say and disregard what the Bible and God say.
  But, regardless, the Bible tells us many times of the importance of having someone to confide in, a friend to help you, when done in a healthy way. Sometimes friends can give you good advice. Sometimes friends can just be the shoulder you cry on. God gives us people in our life who can help us. And talking out loud can help us get a second opinion on things as well: sometimes, I, personally, can go around and around an issue in my head and work myself up into a tizzy, but hearing someone else say “it’s all going to be okay” offers me some comfort. As Anna sings: “I can’t find my direction/I’m all alone,” sometimes the enemy can use our loneliness to drag us down—or we can draw closer to God, to godly people, and build ourselves back up.
• Bible verses: Proverbs 27:17—“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” (This is a different translation than I usually use, but I love the word “friend” in this verse. Isn’t it beautiful to think about how true friendship should point us towards God and build us up towards Him?) 
• Galatians 6:2—“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” 
• Proverbs 13:20—“He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harms.”
• A quote, from C.S. Lewis: “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art...It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”
• Lastly...live in the moment. One of the lines that resonates with me the most in this song is when Anna sings: “I won’t look too far ahead/It’s too much for me to take/But break it down to this next breath/This next step/This next choice/Is one that I can make.” I know that when I feel the most anxiety, the most panic, is when I look to the future, too far ahead of me, to things that might not happen. When I think “what if I don’t do this within 5 years...what if I don’t have this within 10 years...what then...what happens...what will I do…” But then I remind myself that I can’t do that. I have no control of the future. But, like the hymn says: “But I know who holds tomorrow/And I know who holds my hand” (I Know Who Holds Tomorrow). It doesn’t matter what may or may not happen in the future. Jesus has promised that He will never leave. All He asks of me is to focus on Him and do the next right thing, in this moment. 
• Bible verse: Matthew 6:34—“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
• Psalm 94:19—“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.”
• Jeremiah 17:7-8—“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

     I think the last thing I want to close with is that we will never know the next right thing until we put God first. Until we start seeking Him wholeheartedly. As Anna sings: “So I’ll walk through this night/Stumbling blindly towards the light/And do the next right thing,” so must we. So we must always take one step closer to the Light, on the straight and narrow path that leads us to Him. God is our guide and our end goal. It doesn’t matter how dark our circumstances, the world, or our lives may seem. We must stumble towards God. Sometimes we’ll fall. Sometimes we won’t. But we must always, always, keep on pushing towards the Light.

     Bible verse: Matthew 6:33—“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”

Song links: The Next Right Thing from Frozen 2

And thanks to Montana Kennedy for suggesting this song with a similar message: The Very Next Thing by Casting Crowns

Find Rest

     “We’re going to be on quarantine for 18 months.”

     “The economy is going to tank—it’s going to be a worse recession than the Great Depression.”

     “Everything is going to close. Forever.”

     “Everyone is going to die.”

     “This is basically the next Plague.”

     “Are we even going to have camps during the summer?”

     “Hope you’re prepared to lose all your friends because all relationships are over. We’re never going to see anyone again. Social distancing means social isolation because relationships over a cell phone aren’t as fulfilling or meaningful.”

     “We’re going to start shooting each other over toilet paper or out of fear of this virus soon.”

     All of these I have either heard, thought, said, or read within the last week, with varying levels of facetiousness. There’s panic in our nation, and I’m guilty of what I’m sure everyone is guilty of, probably: looking up the news to make it worse. 

     Think about the headlines you’ve clicked on lately. I know which ones catch my attention: the ones that are basically, “it’s the end of the world as we know it (and I don’t feel fine).” I’ve seen articles about people getting death threats once they recovered from the virus. I’ve seen people buy up hand sanitizer and soap just to resell it for a higher price. About people calling 911 on their neighbors for coughing. About people committing suicide over isolation, loss of jobs, or a positive test result. And I’ve seen loved ones perish or be separated because of this newest pandemic. 

     And, amongst it all, I’ve seen people calling to God for worship. 

     Which, honestly should be our response. Not only in seasons of fear and upheaval, but in seasons of joy and love as well. With everything, we should draw closer to God, closer to the Person who is trying to teach us something during each time of our life, so long as we listen. 

     I admit, though, that fear is a powerful weapon of the enemy. In one of my favorite books but Shannon Dittemore, she uses the illustration of fear being a cold, black, tar-like substance that coats our entire body and can spread from one person to another. Isn’t that a wonderful metaphor for what we’re doing as a culture right now? We’re all becoming fear-mongers. 

     But the way to combat that fear is found in Jesus.

     A song that really spoke to me this week is “Find Rest” by Francesca Battistelli. Because, in the midst of all the chaos we feel, there’s a line that says: “Find rest/my soul/put your hope in God/put your hope/put your hope in God.”

     Could it be that we feel such unrest because, in some part, we have put our hope, collectively, in something other than God?

     Think about it. We put our hope in wealth: but now the economy could be tanked. (Saying, “could be,” because I’m not an economist, but even economists aren’t God and can’t foresee the future, as much as they predict it.) We put our hope in relationships: now we’re cut off from everyone, isolated and disconnected even within our own families sometimes. We put our hope in our health: now all of us could be carrying a virus that might hurt ourselves or someone else. We put our hope in education: now colleges are closed. We put our hope in our future: and now it’s all uncertain.

     But the One Thing that hasn’t changed? The One Thing that is steady? The One Thing that can see the future, can know the future, whatever diverging paths it may take?

     He hasn't changed.

     God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 

     God’s Word, God’s Hope is a rock that never falters. 

     I’ll remind you now of a well-known story in the Bible. Maybe you’ve even sung this song in Sunday School: “the wise man built his house upon the rock/house upon the rock/house upon the rock…”

     “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.””

—‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7:24-27‬

     Right now, we’re seeing what happens when the rain comes, the streams rise, and the winds blow. We’re seeing houses built of sand collapse all around us. We’re seeing how the world is built in sand, and how anything of it is a flimsy foundation at best. But we can find rest, we can find hope, in the Rock that never collapses. (Please don’t be confused by my capitalization. I do mean Jesus as the Rock; not Dwayne Johnson as the Rock.) 

     So listen to the song. Close your eyes. Feel the rain, feel the fear, feel the streams and wind and know—Jesus is stronger than it all. The hope that is built on Him will never falter. And through the storm, He is Lord, Lord of all (“Cornerstone,” Hillsong). 

Song link: Find Rest by Francesca Battistelli

Slice of American Pie

“How can you be as nice as me?

You’re not from the same slice as me.

Where do we go from here my friend?

Is this the way our story ends?

Hey, man, sing me a song

When we were everyone

We were more than just a slice of American Pie.”

—“Slice” by Five for Fighting

     Think of words that you would use to describe yourself. What are they? Young, old, “millennial,” “boomer,”  rich, poor, black, white, Republican, Democrat, American, Japanese—we all take pride in some way. We all, whether in our head or out loud, define ourselves by labels. Even if it’s just “girl” and “boy,” we all have labels. 

     And labels are not inherently bad.

     They can give us a sense of identity. “Well, I’m a writer.” “I’m a doctor.” To me, the most important label of all that I wear is “Christian.” That defines so much about me, and I’m proud of it. I wouldn’t want to be anything else. I’ll also proudly wear the “girl” label. (I also love admiring cute guys.) I love being a girl. I love femininity. Okay, there are a few downsides—looking at you, Eve—but I wouldn’t want to give up my “Christian girl” label for anything.

     But did you notice how, already, just by claiming to be two things, I’ve put a mental picture in your mind, haven’t I?

     You’re already drawing conclusions about me. Maybe you’re already formulating an argument about me. Maybe you already disagree with what I said.

     In a sense, maybe you’ve already got a stereotype against me.

     Whether it’s positive or negative (and most stereotypes are negative), you’ve already got your preconceived notions about me.

     See, that’s where labels can be destructive. When we start labeling “us” vs. “them.”

     I’m not saying that everyone is always going to agree. I’m not going to say “TOLERATE EVERYONE,” which is such a trigger word and already so deeply misunderstood and twisted that it’s just noise in an already noisy culture. All I’m saying is—there’s a war going on, “us” vs. “them.”

     And there doesn’t need to be.

     “Now, wait a second! I don’t agree with them at all! They’re” (caution, trigger warning, don’t shoot me, okay?) “abortionists. They’re Democrats. They’re Republicans. They’re black. They’re racist. They’re sexist! How can I agree with them? Do you want me to just sit down and shut up? Ok, boomer. IS THAT WHAT YOU MEAN, SNOWFLAKE??”

     Nope. That’s not what I mean, but thanks for drawing that stereotype in your head! (I’m smiling. I’m not angry. Please don’t shoot, okay?)

     Instead, I’m going to pull out my Bible. 

     I’m going to open up to John 4, and I’m going to smooth the pages, clear my throat, and in a soft voice, I’m going to paint you a picture.

     Firstly, I want you to ruminate over John 4:9. “The Samaritan woman said to Him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ (For Jews did not associate with Samaritans).”

     Do you see what’s happening?

     “Us” vs. “them” is not a new concept.

     It was even in the Bible!

     The Jews vs. the Samaritans. They did not associate with each other. I’m sure they hated each other.

     Men vs. women. In ancient society, men and women were not supposed to talk to each other unless they were married.

     Jesus was Jewish man. She was a Samaritan woman.

     But did you see what Jesus did? He talked to her. He asked her for water. Not only that, He engaged her in conversation. He didn’t back away when He found out she was a Samaritan (well, for one, because He already knew), but He treated her like a real person. 

     A real person.

     He didn’t just see her as a label, even though, from farther on, we see there are a lot of labels He could have judged her by: adulterer, sinner, outcast, Samaritan, woman.

     Though the Bible doesn’t tell us her name, I will stand here and tell you that I am positive that the Jesus who created the universe, who could heal a little girl without being in the same house, who could raise Lazarus from the dead, knew her name. And He saw her as a precious child of God, with a name, an identity, with a face.

     She was not some faceless lump in a crowd. 

     He probably remembered the day that God “knitted [her] together in [her] mother’s womb” (paraphrase of Psalm 139:13-18). 

     “So, what? Am I just supposed to tolerate and accept everyone as they are, because they were born this way? Because they’re a hateful bigot? Because they’re ‘a boomer who ruined the economy and environment,’ because they’re ‘a snowflake millennial who can’t do anything without melting’?”

     I’m going to clear my throat and read the next set of verses.

     John 4:39-42: “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.’”

     I know that I skipped a lot—but what happened was that Jesus basically called her out and told her what she was doing wrong...in the gentlest way possible. He basically just said, “hey, I know what you’re doing.”

     But you know what the beauty part of it was?

     He had already seen her as a person. He had already seen her as a friend. He had treated her with empathy and humanity. 

     And then He shared the Gospel.

     And He called her to repent.

     He didn’t flaunt her sin in her face or declare, “I don’t know how I, the perfect Son of God, could ever talk to you! Sinner!” He also didn’t just pat her on her head and say, “Well, you’re mostly good enough. Just go and only sin sometimes, okay?”

     No. He called her to come find her salvation in Him and turn away from her old life—but He did it with gentleness. With love. And above all, He didn’t argue her down to her knees for repentance.

     He just loved her.

     “Okay, but—but Jesus did do a lot of angry things! He hated the Pharisees!” 

     Is that true?

     Or did he hate the sin, the legalism, the hypocrisy of the Pharisees? 

     Now, I’ll flip back a chapter to John 3. In it, we’ll find one of the best known Pharisees: Nicodemus.

     Nicodemus came to Jesus and genuinely wondered about His teachings. He wanted to know more.

     Did Jesus rebuff Nicodemus? “Well, you’re just a stupid little Pharisee. You hypocrite!”

     No. Jesus accepted Nicodemus, accepted his questions, and answered them kindly, with probably the most famous Bible verse in all of history: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one begotten Son, and whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 

     Isn’t that funny?

     The most famous verse in the Bible, about how deeply God loves us and how to come to Him for salvation, was said to a Pharisee.

     Jesus didn’t hate the Pharisees as a whole because they were Pharisees. He knew them as individuals. He knew their sin, their flaws, their hearts, their strengths. And He wasn’t afraid to call them out on it, but He also wasn’t afraid to love them.

     Love them so deeply that He would die for them, even though they murdered Him.

     I think that brings up another interesting point:

     Not only did Jesus see past stereotypes to true humans, but He also did not define anyone by their past mistakes.

     Jesus did not think that the woman at the well or Nicodemus were too far gone to offer salvation to. In fact, as far as we can read, it seems like both of them became followers of Jesus after their encounters. Another prime example is found in John 8. The Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus and stone a woman that was caught in adultery. Jesus tells them that “let he who is without sin throw the first stone” (John 8:7). Of course, by this definition, only Jesus could throw the first stone—and He would have every right to.

     But He didn’t.

     He only held out his hand to her, and, in John 8:11, says “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

     He didn’t just say “neither do I condemn you” and accept her sin with a pat on the head, a “just keep at it, bud.” No. He said that she had the ability to move past her sin. She had the ability to overcome her demons, to move into salvation and not be defined by the mistakes she made in the past.

     The drunkard does not have to stay drunk.

     The adulterer does not have to be caught in adultery.

     The woman who had an abortion does not have to remain an abortionist.

     They are all welcome to “go and sin no more.” 

     And, as Christians, we have to be able to have the grace to extend to them. To see past the stereotypes, to see past the sin, to see the real, hurting person underneath. Because no matter the façade we perform online and offline, we all have things that grieve our hearts. We are all just hurting, broken humans, trying to understand life as we have learned.

     We’ll all get things wrong.

     We all, at one time or another, are wrong. 

     And it takes a very humble person to swallow their pride and listen with an open heart. A person like the woman at the well. A person like Nicodemus. A person like the adulterer. They could have blown up at Jesus, said “there’s nothing wrong with what I’m doing!” They could have.

     But they didn’t. They listened with humility, came to Jesus with repentance…

     And they went and sinned no more. 

     And that’s the story of the Gospel. 

     So the next time we’re tempted to paint with broad stripes, to lump together people in stereotypes, to have an “us” vs. “them” mentality, to be fixated on one mistake or one facet of a person: let’s remember what Jesus did instead.

     Let’s love them as a person.

     Let’s love them to Jesus.