At some point in your life, you’re going to make choices that seem weird to other people. It might be that you start a non-profit while you’re still in high school, or you delay starting college so you can spend a few years serving refugees overseas, or you walk away from a lucrative career so that you can go to culinary school. The when really isn’t the important part. The important part is that you will tell people about your “weird” decision, and regardless of their reactions you will stand firm and be courageous enough to follow through with what you know is the right choice.
Because underneath all the seemingly weird, you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s where the Lord has led you.
Take David and Goliath, for instance.
For starters, David initially went to the Israelites’ army camp on an errand for his father. He was supposed to take a few items to his brothers and then deliver some cheese.
Hi. I’m the unlikely future king of Israel. Can I interest you in some cheese?
(I know that’s not really what happened.)
(But for some reason it delights me.)
(And it’s also a great reminder that God sometimes places life-changing events in the middle of the most mundane chores.)
But after David got to camp (with the cheese!), Goliath challenged the Israelites, and David declared that he’d fight the giant and defend Israel (weird decision #1). Saul tried to talk David out of battling the giant, but David made a passionate case that he was the man for the job. Eventually Saul relented and proceeded with the natural next step: he clothed David with his armor. After all, David had served as Saul’s armor bearer, so David actually wearing that armor probably seemed like a pretty logical progression.
There was only one problem.
David didn’t want to wear Saul’s helmet or breastplate. He didn’t want to carry his sword. In fact, he went to Saul and said, “I can’t walk in these. . . . I’m not used to them” (1 Samuel 17:39). And he took them off (weird decision #2).
In the end David went with what he knew: a staff, five smooth stones, and a slingshot (if you’re keeping score at home, that’s weird decision #3). It wasn’t the most sophisticated line of defense, but David knew that it was exactly how he needed to face his foe. He knew it would give him the best shot at defeating Goliath.
Our big takeaway? Contrary to what we tell ourselves, we don’t all have to “suit up” the same. Decisions that seem weird to others are A-OK when they come with the Lord’s covering. The Holy Spirit leads us individually. We need to be so careful that we don’t fall into the trap of feeling like serving God requires following somebody else’s formula, you know?
Because at the end of the day, weird is relative, but obedience is essential.
So talk to God. And listen. He’ll let you know if your weird is just weird or just right.
1. Can you think of a decision you’ve made that, at first glance, might seem strange to others? Explain.
2. What are the benefits to “resting in the weird,” so to speak? What’s the upside of obedience—even if other people don’t understand?
3. Do you ever feel pressured to “go along to get along”? Why is it sometimes so difficult to go against the grain?
4. Write out Isaiah 30:21.
Today’s Prayer