“Stop Overthinking! God’s Got It ALL Planned Out!”
Pastor Jim Lowe III
Sunday Morning, 9:30am Stream
01/15/23 (3rd Sunday Message)
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{All scriptures are NIV84 unless stated}
We talked last week about waiting…
It Is Good To Wait For God To Act. He Shouldn’t Have To Wait For US To Act! Let’s Get Moving!
We talked about how when God gives us something for us to do.
WE should not be waiting to get it going.
But the truth is we do.
We wait on it.
We wait to do what God called us to do.
This is a condition MANY of us deal with and probably deal with now.
Paralysis by Analysis:
-describes a process when overanalyzing or overthinking a situation prevents action.
This is something that affect many people.
Usually they say they want an answer for every contingency.
It’s the “what ifs”
What if this happens?
What if that happens?
What if they say this?
What about this?
There is a comfort in having an answer to every problem.
If we can plan for everything…it helps us to be more comfortable.
Because we want to feel comfortable before we move…
We will WAIT until we have more answers before we do anything.
Why?
Because it’s uncomfortable moving when you don’t have all the answers.
Moses did the same thing.
Exodus 3:7-10
7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
God Said My People Are In Need - Go Get Them!
Exodus 3:11
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
Moses Said “Who Am I To Do That?”
Exodus 3:12
12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
God Said “I Will Be With You”
Exodus 3:13
13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
Moses Said “What If They Start Asking Questions?”
Exodus 3:14-22
14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation. 16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob— appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 18 “The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. 21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”
God Said “I Have It Planned Out - Go!”
Exodus 4:1
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”
Moses Said ‘What If They Don’t Listen?”
Exodus 4:2-9
2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.” 6 Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow. 7 “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. 8 Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”
God Says “Show Them These Signs - They’ll Listen!”
Exodus 4:10
10 Moses said to the Lord, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
Moses Said “Well I Don’t Speak Well”
Exodus 4:11-12
11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
God Says “It’s Fine I’ll Help You With That, Go!”
Exodus 4:13
13 But Moses said, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”
Moses went through all this…
Trying to come up with every thing he could…
God had an answer for all of it.
And finally said what he was really thinking…
He was afraid to do it.
We Do These Same Things When God Gives Us Something To Do!
Many of us know what God wants for us to do.
But we try and come up with all the reasons…
We try and plan out all the details…
We try and come up with all the contingencies…
But we can never plan for everything.
God Is Looking For Us To Trust Him And Go!
Genesis 12:1-3
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
God told Abram…
I am going to do all these things for you.
I will make you into a great nation.
I will bless you. You will bless others.
Anyone who helps you will be blessed…
Those who rise up against you will be blessed.
ALL this…
If Abram would trust God, listen and go.
Where is Abram going??
Where God would show him.
Where God WOULD show him.
Abram had no answers…
All he knew is God would show him WHEN he moved.
Didn’t make sense to wait…God wasn’t gonna say anything until Abram moved.
Many Times We Use The Excuse Of “Waiting On God,” When He’s Really Waiting On Us To Get Started!
We can’t have the answers to everything.
We feel comfortable in thinking we’re in control…
But we’re never in control.
God showed Moses how much detail he works out.
When Moses asked what to do if they started asking questions…
Exodus 3:19
19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.
God already knows the trouble you have to deal with.
God already knows who will rise up against you.
God already knows it all.
But God also will work it out in your favor!
Exodus 3:21-22
21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”
The Israelites didn’t have to leave empty handed!
God would give them favor with the Egyptians as they were leaving.
They would receive gold and silver from them.
They would receive riches!
God had THIS planned out also!
God Knows And Sees The Things We Go Through. He Has Also Planned Every Step To Keep You Through It And Deliver You Out Of It! You Just Have To Trust Him!
When God designed our purpose…
He KNEW who would get in the way.
He KNEW what would happen.
He ONLY needs us to trust him!
WE just have to stop getting in God’s way.
How To Deal With Paralysis By Analysis When It Comes To God’s Purpose:
Okay so we realize we can overthink things.
How do we stop?
1. Remember God Has Been Planning Your Story From The Beginning And Has It All Figured Out!
Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
No matter how many hours/months/years you’ve been trying to plan your steps.
God already has it figured out.
God has been planning your story for longer than you.
Jeremiah 1:5
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
God had a plan for him.
God has a plan for you.
Remember what he told Moses…
God knows the details!
2. Trust That God Can Take Care Of You Better Than You Can Take Care Of Yourself
This is usually the biggest problem.
Trusting God to take the “wheel.”
Giving it all to God and following him.
He told Moses he would be with him…go.
He told Abram he’d show him the destination when he started walking.
It didn’t matter what they thought…
It doesn’t matter what WE think…
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
We don’t have to understand everything…
We just have to trust God.
Proverbs 16:3
3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
Placing God in charge…
Committing to him…
THATS the way we find success.
There Will Always Be Reasons To Slow Us Down. We Have To Trust That God Will Lead Us And Keep Moving!
