Be Still Type 8
"Be still and know I am God” - Psalm 46:10
If you’re a Type 8 Enneagram you probably struggle with “being still”. I know I do. We’re the type that enjoys challenges, takes on new and many things at once. We stay committed and focused on what we strive for. We plan for almost everything, even the little details in our day that doesn’t matter for the next day. For example, I have my financial budget planned out until the year 2023 and even have my weekly meal planned out in small details. All in all, we are decisive and willful individuals. Though I enjoy being a Type 8, I have to ask myself...how do we fit into a world where God is the one who makes the final decision and wills our life into motion with no hesitation?
I am guilty of always running ahead and trying to make things "right" in my eyes. I am guilty of resisting surrender, while trying to control my life. I am guilty of being impulsive and reacting rather than assessing and responding to what God wants me to do. I am guilty of desiring to play god in my life (unconsciously) because of the pride and selfishness that still rests in my flesh. I am still guilty of those many things in my life from time to time. However, throughout the years God’s shown me multiple times His good plans for me to which it has made me satisfied with the notion of waiting on Him. As I reflect on God’s sanctification in my life, I am brought to reflect on how King Saul’s need for control was a reflection of my prideful control as well.
In 1 Samuel 13, King Saul was at war with the Philistines wherein the enemy was pressing in hard on Saul and his men. When the day came for sacrificing to God during the war, Saul became impatient on Samuel's arrival to conduct his priestly duties. But Samuel’s delay was all a part of God’s play to test Saul in which he failed. He took matters into his own hands to make it "right" in his eyes. Soon after he made the sacred sacrifice to God, Samuel arrived. God and Samuel were furious because of the forbidden thing Saul had done; it was the Levite tribe who were anointed as priests to make sacrifices to God only. Due to King Saul’s impatience and disobedience, he was removed from being the anointed king of God’s people. Though Saul remained King for a period of time even after his disobedience, he did not have a chance to experience the fullness of God's good plan for Israel/Judah.
In the same light, how will we ever experience the fullness of God's good plan for us if we are always seeking to exude sovereignty over our life. Scripture reads, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). I have seen and been disappointed with the results of circumstances when I try to take control, versus when I actually wait on God to make His move. After many years of wrestling with my own flesh to die to myself, I have learned that being still and waiting on God for His plan is best. He works miracles and intervenes faithfully based on His time! I know this is something that Christians should already know and take to heart, but for some of us (Type 8s)…it’s a little harder to grasp.
But this is not to say that we wait all the time and do nothing proactive. We must act upon the wisdom that God gives us as well. If David never acted on the Words of God provided by Samuel, where do you think he’d be? Perhaps still out on his father’s pasture shepherding sheep.
“I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things. “Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it. Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?” - Isaiah 45:7-9
God has a creative will and wise purpose behind everything. Therefore, we should not be discouraged when things appear to be going sideways or even contrary to His promises. God’s sovereignty over all things in our life and this world is the only hope we have. We already have an idea of how broken and tragic conditions can become when humans try to push their own agenda forward.
I understand that as Type 8s we have many plans and goals we want to accomplish. We’ve set out a life for ourselves in our heads that we want to and believe we attain. But think about this…if we think our plans are so great for us, how much greater will our almighty, all-knowing Father’s plans be? Far greater than we can ever anticipate. To all my Type 8s, in a world where we are the creation and God is the Creator Who is sovereign over our lives, we need to ask Him to humble us—that’s how we “fit in”. We need to let go of our need to control our life (and other people’s too) because we are but mere humans. Only in humility can we be still and wait on God. When this happens, [I hope] we will find ourselves at a place where surrendering our life to God becomes a natural form of worship. All in which we can enjoy the fullness of what God has in stored for us.
CY