Anticipation and Agitation

Funny how a season of agitation can lead to a season of anticipation!

We’ve entered into that time of the year that Mark Chestnut must have been thinking of when he sang, “It’s too hot to fish, and too hot for golf…”. Yes, when the mercury regularly flirts with the triple digit mark and the Louisiana humidity causes instant sweat everywhere, the result is a bunch of agitated people looking for a shade tree, big fan, or indoor A/C longing for the cooler days of the next season waiting in the on-deck circle for its turn at bat. And for those of us that share an affinity for the outdoors, these dog-days of Summer bring a longing for the deer-days of Fall where cooler temperatures and changing colors invade and take over for their time in the spotlight. Funny how a season of agitation can lead to a season of anticipation!

Years ago, while reading a book by the late Charles Stanley, I learned that one of the ways God gets our attention in order to have us focused on and listening intently to Him is by allowing discontent or agitation to come into our lives. The possible scenarios are endless, but perhaps one of these examples sounds familiar to you: You’re at the job you’ve enjoyed for a long time when you notice that the fulfillment level is less than it used to be and things you used to laugh at are now irritating you…it could be that the Lord is saying, “Hey, look to me – I’m fixing to lead you in a new direction and you need to trust Me.” Or maybe you’ve been on the boat deck or in the tree stand with no action for longer than you wish was true and the agitation begins to gnaw at you when all of a sudden you catch movement from the corner of your eye or feel the old familiar “bump, bump” on the other end of the line. Agitation turns into anticipation quickly! The Apostle Paul experienced the first of these in 2 Corinthians 2:12-13. He was experiencing great headway in Troas, but he was unsettled in his spirit, and God moved him somewhere else right in the middle of a revival!And of course we know of Jesus’ disciples who had fished all night without a nibble so to speak when Jesus changed the game for them – John 21:3-6. Many times, the Lord will allow a season of irritation to visit us so that we may align ourselves with Him in order for Him to move in our lives with power.

I must ask – What’s got you irritated and agitated these days? It very well could be that the Lord is nowhere near the source of this phenomenon, so if we find ourselves just mad because the fish ain’t bitin’ or upset because so-and-so said or did such-and-such, then please, put your big boy or big girl britches on and get over the perpetual toddler syndrome that seems to be plaguing our land these days! And if that blunt bit of instruction offends you, please consult our handbook here for specific instruction: 1Corinthians 13:11 and 1 Corinthians 16:13-14. But if you find yourself discontent and there’s no apparent reason for it, let me encourage you to set the affections of your mind and heart on the Lord and allow Him to connect the dots for you. He very well could replace the sense of agitation with one of anticipation for what He’s about to do! Perhaps even something on the scale of what He described in Habakkuk 1:5.

In everything we do, I am convinced there is a bigger purpose to it than what we an immediately comprehend. The job is more than a paycheck – it’s an ongoing depository of spiritual fruit into the lives of people we work with. The outings on the river or in the woods are more than catching and killing – they are hours of worship spent in God’s sanctuary drawing close to and hearing from Him. So when all of these bigger pictures are unable to be seen because of the presence of an agitated spirit, look to the One who calmed the raging sea for His disciples (Matthew 8:23-27) and trust Him to transform the irritation into an anticipation for what He’s gonna do next! Keep casting – even when they ain’t bitin’ – and live with anticipation that things are going to change any minute now! I’ll see you later – In The Great Outdoors!