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My daughter says that a lot. She’s 12. It generally goes something like this:
I passionately probe, “Chloe, did you hear me? Are you listening?” She half-heartedly says, “What? I’m so confused.”
In two phrases you see the issue, don’t you? She wasn’t listening. Maybe she could hear the sound of my voice, but she wasn’t taking in the words and the result was/is confusion.
Confusion, by definition, “is a lack of understanding; uncertainty or the state of being bewildered or unclear in one’s mind about something.” Been there? I sure have.
And, I hate being confused. I’m the type that wants to KNOW what to do and how to do it and when to move and where to be; yet, “confused” is all too familiar.
This morning as I was reading the Bible in Genesis chapter 11, I realized something that may be spilling out in my own life: confusion might just be my own fault.
Maybe I’m not listening. Ouch.
In context, God had spoken — clearly — to mankind about His desire for them: “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” He wanted to bless people and He wanted to have a personal relationship with them as they accomplished what He created them to do. God had provided everything they needed to live, to prosper in beauty, in pleasure and in purpose.
But, He also allowed them to choose.
And in Genesis 11, they chose themselves. They chose security. They desired to “make a name for themselves” and to establish their place in the world; the place where they would commit to stay together and to settle and to celebrate what they could accomplish…on their own.
On the surface, their plan doesn’t sound so bad to me. What’s wrong with unity and working together to accomplish a purpose? Nothing!
Unless the purpose is yours and not God’s.
God wasn’t having it. So, God came down. (That’s the miracle of it all, really.) He came down and he confused them so that ultimately He could move them on and into His purpose and plan for them…to disperse. To “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” He didn’t want them to settle. He didn’t want them to seek security and independence.
He wanted them to listen.
He wants me to listen.
He wants you to listen.
I realized that when I am confused, when you are confused, we need only to go back to what God wants. Asking two vital questions: What did God say? What does God want?
I don’t believe He wants us to live in confusion, but we choose confusion everytime we choose ourselves over Him. We create our own chaos. He’s the only one who can really help because He’s the only one who actually KNOWS everything.
I’m forever grateful that in Jesus, God came down for me. In my confusion, He came for me. He rescued me. He forgave me and He settled my heart and cleared my mind and He continues to be all that I need.
He came for you, too. Do you choose Him?
Clarity always comes from Him. Only Him.
Don’t be confused.