A Verse for When… You Don’t Know What to Do
Have you ever caught yourself thinking … I just wish I knew exactly what God wants me to do … ? I sure have. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought I knew exactly what God’s five-year plan was for me, only to realize in time that I wasn’t quite on target. And ya know what? I’m not sure if God necessarily wants us to know His longer term plan for us. If we knew it, we would have way less motivation to continually draw near to Him and listen for His sweet guidance and direction.
If you ever find yourself in a season where you’re just not sure what your next move should be, I have a verse for you to lean on. When in doubt, these are some things you can do. Paul wrote these words to the people in the church in Thessalonica. They were facing intense persecution, but they were actually continuing to flourish in Christ in the midst of it. Paul was writing to encourage them and remind them of what they should continue doing as they endured the persecution and looked ahead to the day of Jesus’ return.
Among other things, Paul instructed the people to:
…make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. -1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
Pretty clear cut, right? If things are uncertain, difficult, unclear or frustrating, this verse tells believers what they can always continue doing.
Lead a quiet life. Surely this doesn’t mean you need to walk around whispering all day long, does it? I don’t think so. The Message’s translation of this verse says, “Stay calm.” You can choose to stay calm when all kinds of life situations arise—smaller daily circumstances and bigger long term circumstances, too. When a friend lashes out, when you get stuck in traffic on your way to an important appointment, when you hear difficult news from the doctor, when your drive thru order is incorrect, when your parent’s health is quickly diminishing, when you get word that layoffs at work are coming… You can stay calm and lead a quiet life. By keeping your composure and choosing not to fly off the handle, your mind can think rationally and stay focused on God.
Mind your own business. Now this one is pretty self explanatory! When you’re busy minding your own business, then you can avoid unnecessary drama and stress. The opposite of minding your own business is meddling, and meddling hasn’t improved daily life for too many people, I would boldly suggest. A quick Google search for synonyms for meddle include: interfere, butt in, intrude, pry, mess with, snoop, infringe and tamper. None of those words radiate positivity in my mind. You make daily life so much easier for yourself when you simply mind your own business.
Work with your hands. God wants you to do the work assigned to you! Although we often live for the weekend or our next vacation, work is a gift, and God desires for His people to stay busy doing the work in front of us. The first thing that comes to mind here is probably your actual job. But what other work might Paul have been referring to? Thriving in life requires staying on top of all kinds of work. …doing the dishes, keeping up with laundry, maintaining a clean living space, budgeting, serving others through church, exercising/moving your body in some way, getting enough sleep at night, etc. As you walk through each day, God wants you to attend to your affairs with diligence and excellence.
When you do these three things, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says that “your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” This brings up two questions in my mind…
- Why should we care about winning the respect of outsiders? (And who is an outsider?) In this verse, outsiders are referring to folks who are not believers. One way we can witness to nonbelievers is simply by the way we live. Sure, we can tell them about Jesus with our words. But arguably an even more powerful method is by living like Jesus and letting them observe our lifestyle. We can win their respect by leading quiet lives, minding our own business and working with our hands. Then, once they’ve determined that they can respect us, the door to more direct witnessing may be opened.
- Why is it important that we not be dependent on anybody? It might be difficult to truly respect someone who lacks honorable independence. The Message translation of this verse specifically notes that we should not be “lying around sponging off your friends.” We all need a little help sometimes, but if you’re constantly depending on others to meet your needs, keen observers might assume that you are lazy, unwise or apathetic. And, to be honest, can you blame them? Although this part of the verse might feel a bit harsh, think about it… If you don’t have credibility as a competent person who can meet your own basic needs, why would another person look to you for any kind of help, wisdom or advice?
What a verse! Clear cut and straight to the point. Action steps. Whether you’re in a time of life when you know exactly what God wants you to be doing or not, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 is a verse you can turn to. Let it give you purpose and direction.
…make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. -1 Thessalonians 4:11-12