Is This It?

Sometimes we’re complacent. Sometimes we’re content. Maybe we have outgrown some relationships, our job, our church, our life and we need to move on…sometimes God  has reasons for us being where we are. Sometimes God moves us, sometimes the most greatest things happen right where we are. Sometimes preparation looks mundane. Regardless, we need to seek the Lord. Check this out…

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Hey friends, what a wild week it's been in the world, but hey, we're here, we made it to Friday, and hopefully we can all get some time to decompress, take a breather, and just get out and enjoy some things that are fun and relaxing. Before I get started, I do want to extend a warm welcome to listeners out of Southwest City, Missouri, Billings, Montana, and Lebanon, Tennessee. I appreciate all my listeners, both in the states and from around the world. And as always, if you like the content and think it's good enough to share with friends and family, go ahead and do just that. Also, make sure that you're subscribed to this show on your preferred podcast platform. And remember to check out the Unfiltered with Jesse B Facebook page where you can listen to all these episodes as they're posted. So let me ask you something that maybe nobody has asked you lately. You ready? Are you okay with where your life is or have you just gotten used to it? Well, what's the difference? There are seasons in life where it's peaceful, ordinary, and then there are seasons where ordinary sometimes feels like a prison. You wake up, you go to work, you come home, pay the bills, do the laundry, make dinner, scroll your phone while watching TV. If you have kids still at home or you're married, you halfway listen to what's going on with them and then go to bed. Only to have to get up and do it all over again. Somewhere along the way, you may have started asking yourself questions like, is this really it? Is this as good as it gets? Is this what God has for me? Why don't I feel fulfilled anymore? Why do I feel like I've outgrown my life? Does God even care if I'm unhappy? And perhaps the hardest question that's floating around does this feeling mean it's time to move on? Now, today I want to talk about being stuck in the mundane. There are times when God calls us to stay, and there are times when God calls us to go. Sometimes we're not stuck at all. Sometimes we're just being faithful in a season that doesn't really feel exciting or even rewarding, but it's just a season. So we have to learn the difference. The thing we need to understand is God cares about the season you're in. Sometimes we have this idea that if something isn't a major spiritual crisis that God isn't interested. Remember those old TV sitcoms where kids would pray and it would always seem to start something like, Hey God, it's me. I know you're busy, but and while that seemed cute and maybe even showing that kids could be polite or should be polite, somehow it seems we never really outgrew that mentality. We think God cares about salvation, sin, prayer, and church, but he doesn't care if you're bored with life, frustrated with your job or care that you feel like your life has become monotonous. Does God care when we're wondering if there's more to life than what we have now? Absolutely. God cares about the whole person, everything, not just some things. Psalms one hundred thirty nine one through three says, Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You discern my thoughts from afar, you search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. God knows your thoughts, he knows your routine. He knows what you're frustrated about, he knows what you're afraid to admit, and furthermore, he knows the dream you buried. He knows the thing that you're secretly asking him about, but you don't really verbalize it. And something else just as important. You don't have to pretend with God. If you remember nothing else about this podcast, let's just say that this is the last podcast that I ever do. I'm not planning on that, but we don't know what tomorrow brings. But anyway, I hope that you all remember this. You can be real with God. You can tell him, Lord, I'm tired. Lord, I'm bored, Lord, I just don't understand what I'm doing here, and Lord, I feel like I'm wasting my life and I just want something different. God isn't intimidated by honest prayer. The second thing to remember is feeling stuck doesn't automatically mean God is telling you to leave. This is where we need to lean into Him for wisdom because our culture tells us stuff like if you're unhappy, leave. Don't like your job, quit. Don't like your marriage, get out of it, get a divorce. Don't want to talk to that person again, don't. Block their number, cut them out of your life. You don't like your church, you can always find another one. Don't like your circumstances, we'll change them. And sometimes change is absolutely necessary, but Scripture doesn't teach that discomfort is a free ticket for departure. Sometimes God does something profound in the mundane. Look at Jesus. He lived for thirty years a remarkably ordinary earthly life before beginning his public ministry. He worked and lived among people. He was known as a carpenter's son. Then, in God's appointed time, his public ministry began, and Jesus wasn't wasting those years, he was preparing. And that's an important word for somebody listening. I just know it. Preparation can look a lot like stagnation. I realize that, lived it, been there, I am there. You may think nothing is happening, but God may be developing something in you that you can't even see yet. The third thing to remember is we shouldn't despise the ordinary. Zechariah four ten says for whoever has despised the day of small things. But I like the way the NIV translates this better, so I'm gonna read it there. Who dares despise the day of small things? Our current culture is obsessed with significance. We want the big platforms, the big career, big ministry, big house, big following, big successes, big bank account, big, big, big. But God has never measured significance the way we do. David spent years tending sheep before he became king. Joseph spent years in prison before stepping into the position God prepared for him, and sometimes the place you desperately want to escape is the very place God is using to prepare you. Maybe you're not stuck, maybe you're being strengthened. Maybe God is teaching patience and faithfulness. Maybe he's stripping away your dependence on circumstances to make you dependent on him. Because here is the uncomfortable truth. If you can't find purpose in an ordinary Tuesday, changing your circumstances on Wednesday may not fix your emptiness. You can move across the country and still be miserable. You can change careers and still feel empty. You can end one relationship and enter another and still feel restlessness. You can change churches and carry the same baggage. Sometimes the problem isn't where you are. Sometimes the problem is that you're looking to external environments to solve internal problems that only God can address. The fourth thing is sometimes God is really calling you to move. Now let's talk about that. We can abuse the idea of being content just as easily as we can abuse the idea of following your dreams. There are people sitting in situations God never intended them to remain in because they've convinced themselves I'm just supposed to endure this. Sometimes that's not always true. There are times when God says go. Abram was told in Genesis 12 1, go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. God didn't give Abraham the entire map. He just gave him a direction. Sometimes obedience requires movement, but we need to take something else into account. Abraham didn't leave because he was bored. He left because God called him. And that's the difference between I'm restless, so I'm leaving versus I've prayed, sought God, examined my motives, listened to wise counsel, and I believe God is directing me. Number five, your feelings are real, but they're not always your compass. And I'm not saying that feelings matter because they do, but they do make horrible gods, and that's little gods, G O D S. Jeremiah seventeen nine says the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it? Your emotions can tell you something needs attention, but they don't necessarily tell you what the solution is. Feeling bored doesn't necessarily mean quit. Feeling restless doesn't necessarily mean move. Feeling dissatisfied doesn't necessarily mean that God has something better somewhere else. And feeling comfortable doesn't necessarily mean you're where God wants you either. That's why it's important to seek God through His Word and prayer. Sometimes what we need is patience. Sometimes what we need to do is wait. Well, what if you're not stuck? You're just tired, and that's another possibility that we don't talk about enough. Sometimes we think we need a completely different life when what we actually need is rest. Elijah experienced an incredible spiritual victory in 1 Kings 18. Then shortly afterward he was just exhausted, afraid, and overwhelmed. God didn't immediately give Elijah a new assignment. He did allow him to rest. Sometimes we make major life decisions from a depleted soul. We're exhausted and suddenly everything looks wrong and insurmountable. Our job is wrong. Our marriage is wrong, church is wrong, our entire life is just wrong. Maybe it's not that everything or even anything is wrong. We're just exhausted. Sometimes the best thing to do is just slow down, allow God to minister to you through prayer and the quiet. Step away from the noise and let God restore your perspective. And the next thing, don't be afraid to ask God those hard questions. Maybe you're listening and thinking, Jesse, I hear you and all that sounds great, but I still genuinely just don't know what to do. To that, my friend, I will say, don't rush into anything. Instead of asking God, how the hell am I going to get out of this? Maybe ask God, what are you trying to teach me here? Instead of asking God, When can I leave? 'Cause I'll pack my bags and clean out my desk the minute you say go. Maybe ask God, have I finished what you brought me here to do? And if not, please make it clear to me. Here's the tough part. Why am I not happier? Instead, ask God, Am I pursuing my happiness or am I pursuing you? Instead of what does my dream life look like, ask what does faithfulness look like on me today? And don't forget, nothing is ever wasted with God. I'm reminded of the song He didn't throw the Clay Away. My Aunt Charlene would sing that in church sometimes, but it's a reminder that nothing is wasted with God. Not the years that seem wasted, not the job you don't love anymore, not the frustrating season you might be in right now, not the waiting you're still doing, not the mundane. Romans eight twenty eight says, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose. And notice that Paul didn't say everything will feel good, look good, or even sound good. He says God works all things together for good. In other words, God can use it. Even things that the enemy meant for evil against us, God can use it for good. Sometimes we want God to change our circumstances without thinking God may be trying to change us first. Sometimes God does either, sometimes he does both. But regardless, we have to trust his timing. And also don't confuse contentment with complacency. And many times we do this, but remember Philippians 4 11, where Paul says, I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. He didn't say I have learned to stop growing. He's saying no matter what the situation, I can trust God in it. You see, complacency says, like the famous song, He Sarah Sarah, whatever will be, will be. Contentment says you can be grateful where you are while believing God may lead you somewhere else. And it might look like, Lord, thank you for this season, but Lord, if you want me to move, I am willing. And that's maturity. Hope all of you all have a great weekend. I will talk to you again next week. Love you guys. Thanks for listening. Good night.