I have met some of the most brilliant individuals. And yet, they are stuck. They are in their own way without realizing that God has already won the battle and has done the work. Yet, we can easily get distracted by trying to solve problems that were not intended for us to address. We don’t know the part we are to play and so we become stressed, discontent, or in some cases envious of others because we don’t know how they do it. We become overwhelmed with taking responsibility for so much that was not designed for us to even deal with.
Recently, I found myself feeling discombobulated and quietly in my spirit I heard that I wasn’t responsible for everything. I was not tapping into the power that was already available to me through God and others that have been placed in my path. We end up exhausted and stressed out because we are fighting on fronts that are not our territory. When we are surrounded on every side, we usually go into either fight or flight mode and take matters into our own hands. When we do that, we are truly setting ourselves up for not only mental health issues but physical health challenges that impede us from being all we were designed to be. We are also leaving God out of the equation. We can become fixated on others and not focused on what we do, the role we are called to play, and ultimately, how God can use us if we are willing and available vessels.
In 2 Kings 6:8-23, Elisha, a prophet, was obviously in constant and in a consistent relationship with God. Through this relationship, the Holy Spirit shared with him the plans of the enemy. This required Elisha to be present and create time to hear God to know God’s plans for his life–not just the big things but down to his daily interactions. Through positioning himself to listen by dedicating time to hear God, Elisha was able to tell the king of Israel the plans of the Syrian king to destroy their country. The King of Syria could not understand why his plans were thwarted and thought there was a spy in the camp until one of his men shared that Elisha was the one who knew everything. Instead of the king realizing that if the Holy Spirit told Elisha the plans of the Syrians, Elisha would also know that the king was going to attempt to kill him as well. Realize that if God’s hand is on you, you don’t have to worry about your enemies. God will protect you if you are in a position of listening to God and making time for that which is most important. Instead of taking matters into his own hands knowing the king wanted to kill him, Elisha trusted God. His next step was critical and important for us to note: He wasn’t afraid. He wasn’t anxious. He prayed knowing and believing that God would show up:
15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, “Strike this army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.”
The soldiers that went blind are like many of us. God has given us sight but our desire to do what we think is best keeps us stuck and unable to really see what is going on around us. We are going in circles, lost. When you feel surrounded on every side, is it a result of you being in the way or are you truly stepping back to hear God? Do you believe that God will fight your battles, give you insight and allow you to win? If not, being stuck and blind will become common and you will miss out on what God has for your life.
Elisha could have tried to figure it out and it could have gone in a completely different direction. He didn’t. He realized something I recently mentioned to a friend: if it is God’s will, then it is God’s bill. Pick your battles and chose to position yourself with God first and everything else will work itself out when you get out of the way of YOU and know your position.
Dr. Froswa’ Booker-Drew is the host of the Tapestry Podcast and the author of three books for women. She is also the Vice President of Community Affairs for the State Fair of Texas. Visit her online at visitdrfroswa.com.
