“I got this,” is a popular phrase now a days, It has the idea that I can handle the situation that is in front of me. The problem with that line of thought is, that we rarely experience circumstances that are exactly the same as what we may have faced in our past. It is our nature to move independently, we like to have a sense of control over our situations. The problem is, we most times are not the ones in control.
I spoke with a man a while ago that told me of a white water rafting trip he took with some friends. He was in charge of setting up the event and when he was asked the level of experience the group had, he told them that the group had some experience in rafting. Well, the information that he had supplied the rafting guide was misleading at best, and very dangerous at the worst. It didn’t take long before the guide figured out that these men had no experience with white water rafting. They survived the trip, but it was a harrowing event to say the least. They can all laugh about the adventure now, however they weren’t laughing much as they navigated the rapids on the river.
When we have the “I’ve got this” mentality in life, we set our selves up for failure very often. Like trying to navigate a set of rapids that you have never seen, life can be very treacherous without a guide. The Lord told Joshua that He would go with him and the Israelites into the Promised Land before they crossed the Jordan river. Joshua told the people to follow the priests as they carried the ark of the covenant, because the Lord would lead the way, they have never been this way before.
Joshua 3:4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
We think it would have been foolish for Joshua and the children of Israel to travel without the leading of God, yet we are too often willing to do just that ourselves. We go into situations that we have never faced before, independent of the Lord we say we follow. Following the Lord assumes we are allowing Him to lead. However, if we have adopted the “I got this” attitude, we lead expecting the Lord to follow. I know that I have been guilty of doing that much more often than I would like to admit.
It is a wise attribute to pause before going into a new situation. Spend a moment to pray, think and listen for the leading of the Lord. It will surprise us how often the Lord says, “I got this,” so we can confidently follow Him.