Stop, Look, Ask, Walk

A friend of mine is facing the frustrations of his job not being fulfilling, of circumstances placing difficult obstacles in his way, of despairing for a new direction. He sent an e-mail asking me to respond with thoughts. I sent an initial reply, but then... But then....

This Sunday, while attending a church in another city to celebrate the baptism of my goddaughter's children, the sermon contained the following verse with some good advice. It's probably good any time, but certainly when faced with difficult choices that may have been brought about by trying to rely too much on yourself.

Jeremiah 6:16 (New Living Translation)

Israel Rejects the Lord’s Way

¹⁶ This is what the Lord says:
“Stop at the crossroads and look around.
Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.
Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.
But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’

The pastor preached on the verbs -- the "steps" to take when facing trouble in your life:
Stop, Look, Ask, Walk -- and the promised result "rest for your soul."

Of course in Jeremiah's day, Israel wasn't having any of it. [Thus, the end of the verse.] But it sounded like a message my friend might need to hear. And, egotistically, it sounded something like what I told him in my first response. I had said "You do need to decide what you really want, and then make a plan to get there, and stick to it."

Of course the verse is suggesting that you find what God wants for you, rather than what you want for yourself. The best result is if those are the same. In any case, the advice seems good.

Stop: Find some time to get all of the distractions out of your head. That may be taking a walk, or finding a quiet place in a library or museum and sitting. Away from the distractions of your home.

Look: Examine the options, the things that are troubling you, the roadblocks you've seen (whether placed there by yourself, others, or The Fates).

Ask: What are your most important goals? What absolutely must be taken care of before the goals can be reached? What is going to be GOOD? Good for you, and good in general. And if you need to ask others for ideas, do it.

Walk: Take action. And once begun, finish it. When you are done, you will be in a new place.

I sent this to my friend as a second response, and then I said to myself "You know, I need to remember this. For myself, if for no one else. I've needed to hear this before, and I will need to again."

So, here it is. The blog for today.

Be well, my friends.