Are You Dragging Your Feet?
When it comes to deciding, I can be a slow, drag-her-feet, indecisive woman.
You can find me standing in a department store aisle for a good five minutes trying to decide which jacket to buy. Should I buy this classic gray one? Or the blue one with a little more flair? I might even have to come back on another day–when I finally decide.
Oh! I have some free time! Should I read a book (but which one)? Or should I watch one of the Netflix movies that’s trending (but which one)? Or should I . . . Meanwhile, I’ve just wandered around the house for a while.
Decisiveness, then, can be foreign to me. But that shouldn’t be the case when God says “Move.” Unnecessary deliberation before I take a step shouldn’t be my MO. That’s why when in Psalm 143:10 (ESV) David wrote, “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God!” Maybe God should have had him write, “Teach me to do your will right away”—just for me.
I’m not talking about outright rebellion but about how quickly God gets the response he deserves: full agreement. As in, I agree with you, God, and I’ll make this move you clearly want for me without dragging my feet.
Why do any of us drag our feet with God? Here are a few possibilities:
Faltering Trust
Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (ESV). We get it; God knows what he’s doing, and he’s 100 percent trustworthy. Intellectually, we don’t think for one second that our understanding is adequate. But sometimes druthers take over a corner of our heart.
In an article titled “The Top Ten Reasons We Don’t Trust God,” reason #9 caught my attention—“A limited view of letting go.” It speaks to the issue of preferring control. Sometimes we have a tough time letting God be the Lord of our lives because we’d like that honor for ourselves. Or we secretly think if we let go, he might allow a circumstance we don’t want to live with. Trusting hearts can falter, causing us to drag our feet with God.
Claims of Wisdom
God is, of course, completely wise. He’s even willing to share his wisdom with us: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God . . . and it will be given him” (James 1:15 ESV). I suspect sometimes we drag our feet with God because we subconsciously believe that by now, we’re wise enough to operate alone in whatever part of our lives he’s asking for some movement. How just the opposite of wise is this? And the fact that James said, “If any of you lacks wisdom” surprises me. I don’t think there’s much if about it. We can gain wisdom, but our wisdom will never match God’s. Assuming we have wisdom we don’t can cause us to drag our feet with God.
Stunted Belief
Genesis 18:14 asks this question: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (ESV). The answer, of course, is no. Yet how often do we believe a shattered situation can never be redeemed, a terrible problem can never be resolved, a broken relationship can never be repaired—even by God? And what if God’s trying to tell us we have a role to play in his resolution? Unbelief in God’s power to redeem, resolve, repair can cause us to drag our feet.
Dragging for the Sake of Details
This one takes some thought—at least it does for me.
“I know the plans I have for you,” the Lord told his people through the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV). I believe God has plans for each of us that advance his purposes. But must he define every step for us before we’ll lift a foot? Does he always tell us when to move?
Psalm 37:23 says “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way” (ESV). Yet consider the possibility that if we acknowledge God in all our ways, believing he will make our paths straight (Proverbs 3:6), he might allow—even want—us to define some of our steps ourselves. Sometimes he might want us to move forward not because he’s told us what steps he’s established but because he wants us to take a step believing he’ll speak up if we’re about to do something that would adversely affect his plans.
The author of an article titled “What Is God’s Plan for Me?” writes, “God’s plan…is not that you become a doctor, a missionary, a singer or even an astronaut. Those are just the details. The big plan is to follow him in all we do.” Consider the possibility that God will approve of us whether we choose higher education as just a traditional next step or don’t—as long as we follow him. Or whether we marry or not—as long as we love him. Or whether we retire in Pennsylvania or Arizona—as long as we serve him. Or whether we attend a Catholic church across town or the Baptist church down the block—as long as we worship him. Consider that waiting on God to direct every step might be dragging our feet because we’re short on faith.
Psalm 119:60 says, “I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments” (ESV). I can be a slow, drag-her-feet, indecisive woman—even with God. But when he says “Move,” I want to decisively lean on his wisdom, believe in his power, and above all, follow, serve, love, and worship him—even if he doesn’t tell me every step to take. I want to trust him with an unfaltering heart, unafraid to move.
is a champion coffee drinker and a freelance editor and writer for Christian publishers and ministries. She doesn’t garden, bake, or knit, but insists playing Scrabble is exactly the same thing. Jean and her husband, Cal, live in central Indiana. They have three children (plus two who married in) and five grandchildren. She blogs at bloominwordstoo.blogspot.com.
Photograph © Alex Iby, used with permission
