Red Rover

Here’s a SO (shout out) to all my control freak friends out there. I’m just like you! Since I can remember, I’ve always been very spontaneous. I acted on my random ideas of crafty hobbies, changing around the furniture in my room, a brilliant idea of trying out a new recipe and then pitching the recipe card halfway through because I figured I could do it pretty well on my own. To my dismay, sometimes that didn’t work out AT ALL. I did all the above and more. Any idea I had, I did it and if someone thought it wasn’t a great idea, I would beg them to let me try it “just to see”. Life has a way of maturing us, but sometimes we still have a little bit of that character trait in our blood. I know it has in my life. Though I may not change the furniture as often as I used to, I find myself still trying to control areas in my life where God has told me before to leave alone and to not mess with until the appropriate time. 

Lately I’ve been seeking the Lord more for my future. I’ve been desiring a job, the RIGHT job and trying to make those normal important decisions that I’m sure most young adults are trying to make right now. The control freak side of me has came out way more lately since I’ve been trying to search the Lord for these things. You know the quote that says, “Until God opens the next door, praise him in the hallway”?  I  feel like the person who has knocked on ALL of the doors way too many times, people. I say that not to criticize the waiting time that I’m in but to help prove my point of my controlling nature. I’ve prayed, applied for jobs and did my fair share of complaining to those around me during this time and honestly the result of all of those things came to this conclusion. 

Wait. 

Be still. 

That four letter word makes any control freak cringe and that phrase “Be still” can at first spike the anxiety through the roof of this chick. Be still? “But I want answers. I’m tired of waiting.” Sound familiar? 

In Exodus, in the thirty second chapter it tells of the Israelites who were tired of waiting (there’s actually many stories of them complaining but we will just discuss this one today). These people were cranky and tired of waiting for Moses to come down the mountain- which Moses was getting commands from God for their well being, mind you. Just like us sometimes, they took it in to their own hands and made a Golden Calf and did many other wrong things. And let me tell ya, God and Moses weren’t happy. To the point that God was maybe going to destroy them and Moses pleaded for God to save them. The result? A plan made by God that has been touched by a human’s selfish desire won’t work out the way it was originally destined to be. And us humans are the ones who have to deal with the results. Death was the penalty in this case for the Israelites. 

In the end of the chapter, Moses calls out to the sons of Levi and asks them, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” Do you think by then they realized which side messed up? And imagine the thoughts that went through their minds. If we had just waited for Moses to come down, some of the Israelites wouldn’t have been killed. So what about us? And I’m sure the title of this blog isn’t making any sense to you right now. But here’s my reasoning for the title that I chose.

 In the game “Red Rover” there are two teams and each one of the members of the team are stretched out wide and touching, to create a strong link. The purpose of the game is to call out one of the opposite team members to come over and try to run through the link that they’ve created. If they don’t break through, they go into prison. The point of the game is to get all of the opposite team members on the their side. Spiritually, there are two sides- God and the devil. But in this analogy I’m using one of the sides as our own will- which is one of the devil’s schemes. The Israelites had to choose after that what side they wanted. Their own way or God’s way? Through dealing with the things that I’m learning right now, I’ve learned that sticking to my side or my way, leads to major chaos. It doesn’t work. It’s hard and honestly there ARE consequences. And maybe even, missed out blessings? 

So here I am somewhere in the middle of the battle ground and God is calling “Red Rover, Red Rover, send Natalie right over” and he’s calling us to His side. And calling as many as He can to give up their wants and their impatience and their SELF and to just wait when God says to wait and go when He says to go. Let us not miss out on all the great blessings we can have if we just wait for His timing. 

Taking it in our own hands might feel good for a little bit but once we realize how unfulfilling it is, we will wish we would’ve waited for His timing. 

Natalie