I made a big mistake this week.

I should have listened. I didn't. And I missed out on something God had for me because of it.

Maybe you noticed. Maybe you didn’t. But yesterday, for the first time in over a month, I didn’t write a weekday post. I wasn’t tired. I wasn’t sick. I wasn’t overwhelmed. In fact, I REALLY wanted to write something.

But I couldn’t. And the reason why is important.

If you’re newer around here, let me reiterate one thing: every morning I wake up (usually around 430am), spend time with God by journaling, praying, and reading, and then write whatever he tells me to write. It’s really that simple.

When I woke up Tuesday morning, though, I was a little confused by what God told me to write: “nothing.” Not that he didn’t give me anything, but he told me specifically not to write that day.

“But God, I told them I’d write something every weekday. I can’t NOT write something.”

He didn’t relent.

So what did I do? Well, I wrote something. Talk about stupid.

Now initially, I listened. I said, “OK, God, this doesn’t make sense to me. But I’ll be obedient.” Until I wasn’t. I sat down to do some other things at my computer, and I just couldn’t help myself. So I wrote something short. I thought, “It’s just this little thing. It isn’t my usual thing. Certainly THAT’S OK.”

Yeah, no. I should have just listened. (Maybe that’s why the post didn’t really connect with you and received zero comments. 🤷‍♂️) Have you ever bargained with God like that?

Here’s the thing: Tuesday ended up being one of the hardest days in mine and my wife’s recent memory. The health issues that have debilitated her to a certain degree flared up. I had to bring her home from work in the middle of the day. She could barely walk straight. There were a lot of tears. A lot of frustrations. A lot of exhaustion — physically, mentally, and spiritually. The very day God told me to take a break, my wife and I broke.

Why am I telling you that? Well, let me make one thing clear: I’m not saying that because I decided to write a post when God told me not to that he gave my wife and I one of the toughest days of our lives. Not at all. But what became clear to me on Tuesday night was this: God was telling me not to write on Tuesday because he knew how hard that day was going to be, and he wanted me to rest. He wanted me to be even more focused on him. He knew exactly what I needed.

I chose my way instead of his. I rejected his gift of rest.

That brings me to yesterday. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake. I wanted to write so badly yesterday. I wanted to explain to you what I did, how I messed up, and tell you to NOT do what I did. But once again, God told me “no.” He told me to give the day to him. To pray. To fast even. I haven’t actually fasted in forever — maybe even ever, now that I think about it.

“Jon, not writing Tuesday and today isn’t for me,” he explained. “It’s for you. I don’t need your rest. You need your rest. I knew how tough this week was going to be.”

Doh!

So I gave the day to him yesterday. I fasted all day until dinner. Every time I wanted something to eat — every time my stomach growled and cried out for sustenance — I prayed instead. I prayed for my wife. I prayed for our family. I prayed for you. And it was an incredible experience with God. And as a bonus, I was productive. I had conversations that were life-giving. I was refreshed and rejuvenated, not by doing nothing but by doing exactly what God had told me to do.

And that, friend, is the point of all this. That’s what I want to encourage you with today. Even when it doesn’t make sense, especially when it goes against what you want to do, just do what God tells you to do.

That was made clear to me this week through experience. It was also made clear to me this morning during my reading time. Some days, I simply just open up the Bible and start reading wherever the pages fall. It’s fun, really. “OK, God, I’m just going to open this up and see what you do with it.” You should try it. This morning, I randomly opened to the book of Daniel, chapter 4. And it couldn’t have been more relevant or amazing.