What God Is Showing Me… | A Pastoral Reflection by Superintendent Dr. Gary L. Cordon, Sr.
When the devil discovers he cannot stop your progress, he may try to destroy your balance.
Scripture Focus: Luke 4:9–12; Proverbs 19:2; Galatians 5:25 (KJV)
There is something I learned on a backyard football field more than sixty years ago that has become a powerful spiritual lesson in my walk with God.
Sometimes the most dangerous thing somebody can do to you is not stand in your way. It is push you when you are already moving!
Let me explain.
A Little Backyard Football
Growing up in the early 1960s, I was a very slender ten-year-old boy. I was small, but I was fast on my feet. I had quick reflexes, and I was athletic.
Now, back in those days, we played a lot of what I call in-the-dirt football.
We didn’t play nearly as much basketball. Not because we didn’t like basketball, but because we didn’t always have the money to buy a basketball and put up a basketball goal!
(Smile.) We played what we could afford to play!
Football was different. All we needed was a football, some boys who wanted to play, and enough open ground to run around on.
Sometimes eight or ten boys would gather in somebody’s backyard or an open field, and we would choose sides. We had our own way of making the teams fair.
We would choose a big fellow for one team and then a big fellow for the other. We would pick a fast fellow for one side and then a fast fellow for the other. Naturally, the best players were usually chosen first.
And I am pleased to report that I was almost always among the first three chosen!
Now, I wasn’t the biggest boy on the field, but I could play football. I could run with the ball. I could throw the ball. I could catch the ball. I could even play quarterback.
Offense was my thing!
But there was one little problem. In backyard football, we didn’t have separate offensive and defensive teams. Everybody had to play both ways.
And while I was pretty good on offense, defense was another matter altogether—especially when it came to blocking and tackling!
You see, I was fast, but I wasn’t very big. Some of those boys were considerably bigger and stronger than I was. When they came running toward me carrying that football, I could get in their way, but that didn’t mean I could stop them.
Sometimes they would just run right over me!
I could see them coming. I could get myself into position. I could even make contact. But when a bigger boy was running full speed, I simply didn’t have enough size or strength to stop him.
Then one day, I discovered something. And that discovery changed the way I played defense.
When I Couldn’t Stop Them, I Learned to Push Them
I discovered that instead of standing directly in front of a bigger boy and trying to tackle him, I could step slightly to the side and give him a push as he ran past me.
And, my goodness, did that work!
Here was a boy running full speed, concentrating on reaching his destination. He had his momentum. He had his direction. He had his speed. And he thought he knew exactly where he was going.
But when I stepped aside and pushed him, something happened that I could never have accomplished by trying to tackle him head-on.
He lost his balance!
That little push disrupted his momentum. Suddenly, instead of running toward his destination, he was falling!
And because he was already moving at full speed, he couldn’t always control how or where he landed. Sometimes those falls were dangerous.
In fact, the maneuver became so effective—and so dangerous—that we had to ban it from our backyard football games.
Think about that! I wasn’t big enough to stop those boys by standing in front of them. But I discovered I could knock them down by pushing them while they were running.
And what made the difference? They were already moving!
Their own speed became part of the problem. The faster they were running, the more difficult it was to regain their balance after being pushed.
I didn’t need to overpower them. I just needed to disturb their balance at the right moment.
And now, more than sixty years later, I understand that there is a powerful spiritual lesson in that childhood experience.
The Enemy Doesn’t Always Try to Stop You
Child of God, listen carefully.
Sometimes the enemy recognizes that he cannot easily discourage you from doing what God has called you to do. You have already made up your mind that you are going to serve the Lord.
You are committed to your assignment. You have survived disappointment. You have endured criticism. You have overcome obstacles. You have been knocked down before, but by the grace of God, you got back up.
And the enemy has discovered something about you: You are not easily persuaded to quit!
So he may change his strategy.
Instead of trying to stop you, he tries to push you.
He pushes you to move faster. He pushes you to take on more. He pushes you to make decisions before you have prayed. He pushes you to respond before you have listened. He pushes you to prove yourself to people who have no authority over your assignment.
He pushes you into commitments that God never required you to make. He pushes you toward opportunities that look good but may not be God’s direction for your life.
And while you are celebrating how fast you are moving, you may fail to recognize that you are gradually losing your spiritual balance.
What God Is Showing Me…
The enemy doesn’t always have to change your direction to defeat you. Sometimes he only needs to disturb your balance while you are moving in the right direction.
That’s worth thinking about!
1. Beware of the Push to Move Before God Says Move
One of the greatest dangers in the Christian life is confusing movement with obedience. Everything that gets us moving is not necessarily leading us in the will of God. And everything that appears to be an opportunity is not necessarily an assignment.
Sometimes we become so anxious to get something done that we fail to recognize the difference between God’s timing and our own impatience.
The Bible says:
Proverbs 19:2 (KJV)
“Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.”
Consider that expression: He that hasteth with his feet sinneth. It is a warning against rushing ahead without the knowledge and understanding necessary to walk wisely.
There are times when moving too quickly can be just as dangerous as refusing to move at all.
The enemy knows this. He understands that if he can get you to run ahead of God’s instructions, you may create difficulties that obedience and patience would have prevented.
That is why I often remind people:
“When you understand that God is never late, waiting is the process, not a delay.”
God is not obligated to operate according to our impatience. He knows what is ahead. He knows what we are ready to handle. He knows what must be developed in us before He releases certain things through us.
And sometimes the safest place you can be is exactly where God told you to remain until He tells you to move.
Don’t let somebody else’s urgency become your disobedience.
2. Beware of the Push to Prove Yourself
There is a remarkable example of this principle in the temptation of Jesus. In Luke chapter 4, the devil took Jesus to a high place on the temple.
Listen to what the enemy suggested:
Luke 4:9 (KJV)
“And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:”
Now, notice something important. The devil wasn’t telling Jesus to stop being the Son of God. He was challenging Jesus to demonstrate His identity through a reckless act.
In effect, the temptation was: If You are who You say You are, prove it!
The devil even quoted Scripture concerning angelic protection. But Jesus understood something that we must learn.
Just because God has promised to protect you does not mean you have permission to behave presumptuously.
Jesus refused the temptation:
Luke 4:12 (KJV)
“And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
What a powerful lesson! The devil wanted Jesus to jump. Jesus chose to obey. The devil wanted Jesus to demonstrate His power on the devil’s terms. Jesus remained submitted to the Father’s will.
And somebody reading this today needs to hear that message.
You do not have to prove your calling by accepting every challenge. You do not have to prove your faith by making reckless decisions. You do not have to prove your anointing by doing everything somebody asks you to do.
You do not have to prove your worth by exhausting yourself trying to satisfy everybody else’s expectations.
Jesus did not need to jump to prove who He was! And neither do you.
God’s approval of your life is not dependent upon your willingness to respond to everybody who questions you. Sometimes spiritual maturity means knowing when not to move.
3. Beware of the Push That Destroys Your Balance
Now, let’s go back to that little football field.
Remember, those boys were already running. They were not standing still. They were moving toward their destination. I didn’t have to stop their movement. I only needed to disrupt their balance.
And that is exactly where some believers find themselves.
They are still attending church. Still serving. Still teaching. Still preaching. Still singing. Still leading. Still working. Still giving. Still helping everybody else.
But somewhere along the way, their spiritual balance has been disturbed.
They are so busy doing the work of the Lord that they are neglecting their personal fellowship with the Lord of the work.
They are making decisions without sufficient prayer. They are serving without resting. They are speaking without listening. They are carrying responsibilities that God never assigned to them.
They are responding to pressure rather than following spiritual direction.
And because they are still accomplishing things, they may not recognize that something is wrong.
Activity is not always evidence of spiritual health.
You can be moving and still be out of balance. You can be successful in the eyes of people while becoming spiritually exhausted. You can be doing many good things while neglecting the most important thing.
That is why the Christian life must never become merely a collection of religious responsibilities.
Our first responsibility is to maintain a living relationship with Jesus Christ.
The work must never become more important than the One who called us to do the work.
Learn the Difference Between God’s Leading and the Enemy’s Pushing
Now, I want to be careful here. Not every difficult situation is an attack from the devil. Not every urgent responsibility is a spiritual trap.
Sometimes God really does call us to act immediately. Sometimes obedience requires courage, sacrifice, and extraordinary effort. And sometimes our difficulties are simply the consequences of poor planning, human limitations, or decisions that need correction.
Therefore, we must be careful not to blame the devil for everything.
But we must also recognize that the enemy can exploit our impatience, pride, fear, ambition, and exhaustion. That is why spiritual discernment is so important.
Galatians 5:25 (KJV)
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Notice that word: WALK. Paul does not tell us to run ahead of the Spirit. He tells us to walk in the Spirit.
The emphasis is not upon how fast we can move but upon whether our conduct remains consistent with the Spirit’s direction.
God’s leading produces obedience to His Word. The enemy’s influence seeks to move us away from that obedience.
God’s leading may challenge us, stretch us, and require great sacrifice. But the enemy’s pushing tempts us to act independently of God’s wisdom and direction.
The difference is not always how difficult the assignment feels. The difference is whose direction we are following.
We must learn to recognize when we are being led and when we are simply being pressured.
And there is an important truth here: You can be headed in the right direction and still be moving at the wrong pace.
Don’t Let Your Strength Become Your Weakness
One of the most interesting things about my childhood football experience is that those bigger boys had an advantage over me.
They were stronger. They were heavier. They were more difficult to tackle. But their strength was not enough to protect them from losing their balance.
And their speed, which ordinarily helped them, made an unexpected push even more dangerous.
There is a lesson here for every gifted, talented, committed, and hardworking believer.
The very qualities that make you effective can become areas of vulnerability when they are not governed by spiritual discipline.
Your determination can become stubbornness. Your confidence can become pride. Your compassion can become an inability to establish healthy boundaries. Your willingness to serve can become an unwillingness to rest.
Your desire to accomplish God’s work can become impatience with God’s timing. And your gift for getting things done can become the very thing that keeps you from recognizing when God is telling you to be still.
I have learned that just because I can do something doesn’t necessarily mean I should do it.
And just because something needs to be done doesn’t necessarily mean God has assigned me to do it.
Sometimes we must stop asking, “Can I handle this?” And begin asking, “Lord, is this what You want me to handle?”
There is a difference!
Guard Your Peace While Pursuing Your Purpose
As I have grown older in both life and ministry, I have become increasingly convinced that spiritual maturity is not measured merely by how much we accomplish.
It is also revealed in our willingness to remain surrendered to God while accomplishing what He has assigned us.
I frequently say: “The peace of God is the reward of the surrender to God.”
That peace does not mean we will never experience pressure. It does not mean our lives will be free from difficulty. It does not mean everything will happen according to our personal schedule.
It means that even in the middle of our responsibilities, we can remain dependent upon the Lord.
We can pray before deciding. We can examine our motives before responding. We can refuse unnecessary distractions. We can establish godly priorities.
We can accept that some things must wait. We can recognize that every open door does not have our name on it. And we can remain faithful without being frantic.
God has not called us merely to be busy. He has called us to be obedient.
The enemy would love for us to become so preoccupied with what we are doing that we lose sight of why we are doing it.
But the Holy Ghost enables us to live with discernment, discipline, and spiritual stability.
What God Is Showing Me…
I want to leave you with a thought that reaches all the way back to that backyard football field.
Those bigger boys were not defeated because they were too weak to run. They fell because, while running, they lost their balance.
Their speed did not save them. Their size did not save them. Their strength did not save them.
And the person who pushed them did not need to be stronger than they were. He only needed to catch them at a moment when their momentum made them vulnerable.
Child of God, don’t miss this.
The enemy may not be able to convince you to stop serving God, but he may tempt you to become so hurried, distracted, overextended, or self-confident that you lose the balance necessary to continue serving Him faithfully.
So don’t simply ask God for greater speed. Ask Him for greater discernment.
Don’t simply ask Him for more opportunities. Ask Him for wisdom to recognize the opportunities He has ordained.
Don’t simply ask Him for more strength to carry your responsibilities. Ask Him to reveal which responsibilities He actually wants you to carry.
And don’t become so anxious to reach your destination that you forget to remain submitted to the One who called you.
There is a time to move. There is a time to wait. There is a time to speak. There is a time to remain silent. There is a time to accept another responsibility. And there is a time to say, with humility and wisdom, “That is not my assignment.”
Remember: You do not have to run ahead of God to accomplish the will of God.
And when the enemy cannot stop you, don’t be surprised if he tries to push you.
Just make certain that you are being led by the Holy Ghost rather than driven by pressure.
My Closing Challenge
Before you make your next major decision, accept another commitment, or respond to another demand upon your life, ask yourself three questions:
- Is this God’s direction, or am I responding to pressure?
- Am I maintaining my spiritual balance, or am I moving faster than my relationship with God can sustain?
- Will this decision help me fulfill my God-given assignment, or will it distract me from what matters most?
Then pray. Listen. Examine the Word of God. Seek wise counsel when necessary. And move according to the direction of the Holy Ghost.
Because the object of our Christian journey is not simply to move quickly. It is to finish faithfully.
Let Us Pray
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the privilege of serving You and for the assignments You have entrusted to our lives.
Give us wisdom to recognize Your leading and discernment to resist every influence that would move us outside Your will.
Forgive us for the times we have allowed impatience, pride, fear, or the expectations of others to determine our decisions.
Teach us to distinguish between divine opportunities and unnecessary distractions. Help us maintain our prayer life, our fellowship with You, our spiritual discipline, and our obedience to Your Word.
When we need to move, give us courage. When we need to wait, give us patience. When we need to say no, give us wisdom.
And when the enemy attempts to disturb our balance, strengthen us to remain steadfast in faith.
Above all, let us never become so occupied with the assignment that we neglect our relationship with the One who gave it.
Keep us in Your will. Order our steps. And help us finish faithfully.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
WHAT GOD IS SHOWING ME…
“If the enemy can’t stop you, he’ll push you. But when God orders your steps, you don’t have to let pressure determine your pace.”
Don’t confuse being pushed with being led. Don’t confuse speed with progress. And don’t confuse activity with obedience.
God is God, and I believe God!
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Superintendent Dr. Gary L. Cordon, Sr.
Senior Pastor, The Evidence Churches — One Church • Two Locations
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