Where Are You?

By

B.J. Knefley

Where are you? How would you answer that question? Are you where you want to be in life? In your relationships? In your job? How about spiritually, are you where you want to be? Have you ever taken the time to do an inventory about where you are? It can be refreshing and scary all at once.

God asked Adam where he was, not because God didn’t know, but He asked because He wanted Adam to know where he was. Sometimes we need to be aware of where we are so that we can make choices and decisions as to what to do next. Adam’s response was “I heard you, so I hid, I was afraid because I was naked”. He accurately described his condition. I wonder if we would have? To do so would be very revealing and vulnerable. Many don’t want to go there. But change often means that we must recognize where we are because that is the starting point for where we want to be. If we can’t acknowledge where we are, how can we move forward towards the next step.

Adam’s response that he was afraid is a common problem for many. Fear keeps them stuck in what they know, what’s familiar. Like Adam we hide behind what’s familiar. Old habits, behaviors and belief systems fuel our fear and cripple our advancements. Nakedness becomes our inability to venture out into the unknown. Nakedness in the sense that we lack the skills and abilities to change. Or at least we think we can’t. But that becomes another excuse for our hiding behind what our experiences have told us to fear. And so, paralyzed by fear and our inability to be prepared we hide behind what we know. Sad really, because part of change happens when we admit where we are. Ironically, the first step of any twelve-step program is admitting where one is at. Why do we find that so difficult? Why are we afraid? Is it because we have learned helplessness? Could it be that we have programed ourselves into a corner with no way out? Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Sounds like a good starting point. Think about it.