Groping for the Preconscious Next
In our journey to personal promised lands, we go from next to next to next to next...until we enter the promise (Ps 105:13). Each individual Next cannot be skipped or sidestepped, for, at each phase we lose a bit more of what we do not need and we gain a bit more of what we do.
But how do we recognize what wants to emerge? What if we are stuck and there seems to be no door out, or, no door in? You must develop this important spiritual skill: groping for the preconscious Next.
Let's talk about it by Scripture and Spirit.
Next
Here's a simple truth: if you are not yet enjoying the full promise, there is another Next. Like the Israelites going from nation to nation, kingdom to kingdom, place to place, until they reached the promise land (Ps 105:13), you too will go from phase to phase to phase to phase...until you enter the full promise.
Feel stuck? Can't find the door out or door in? Do not worry, it is there. There will always be another Next until you finally enter the full promise in that specific area. Hebrews 4:11 says (NIV, insert mine), Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest [the full promise]...
The challenge is, the next phase is not immediately obvious. It is almost always preconscious.
The Preconscious Next
The term preconscious is so very perfect to describe God and His Next. Preconscious means "immediately preceding consciousness, barely obvious, subtle".
An important statement by Paul at Athens captures God's preconscious whereabouts. Acts 17:27 (NKJV, underline mine): ...that they should seek the Lord...grope for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
Notice the peculiar but calculated language Paul uses. He says God (His presence, His Next, His everything, etc.) is "not far" and able to be groped for, meaning, He is barely obvious and subtle, but reachable. He is what I call "preconscious". Paul, a Mosaic scholar, is drawing here from Deuteronomy 30:11-14, where God says His will is not "far off" but "very near you".
Both scriptures, Acts 17:27 and Deuteronomy 30:11-14, convey the idea that God dwells in a preconscious position, in that thin space right below the obvious. He is nearby and within reach, but subtle. He and His Next can be uncovered by seeking and groping.
Seeking & Groping
Consider again Acts 17:27 (NKJV, underline mine): ...they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
To seek the Lord means to spend time in solitude praying, worshiping, searching Scripture, sometimes with fasting. It means to approach God directly. This secret place intimacy is the foundation of our day and life. But Paul did not say seeking alone, he said seeking and groping.
The Greek word here for grope is pselaphao, it means to touch or feel. We grope for God's Next by "feeling out" possible Nexts. We feel out and lightly experiment with possibilities relevant to the Next we are praying for. Ephesians 5:10 says to find out or experiment to uncover His will. If you are seeking and obeying Him daily in the basics, and consistent in groping for and feeling out possible Nexts, one of those touches will be Jesus.
Jesus said to the disciples post-resurrection, "Touch me and see it is I" (Lk 24:39). The Greek word here for touch is also pselaphao, the same word Paul used for grope. The disciples did not know it was the risen Lord until they felt for Him. Notice the perfect parallel with Paul's seeking and groping statement: the disciples did not only talk with Jesus (seeking), they also felt for Him (groping).
Seeking Jesus is our First Love foundation, but groping for Him in our phased promise land journey will also be necessary. It is a spiritual skill you must develop! It is a cautious, discerning, experimental feeling out of what the Next might be.
The next increment of your future is breaking into your life today. It is not far from you, it is reachable, but it is preconscious and right below the obvious. Seek and grope for it and eventually you will feel Jesus at a door.