Dean and I love to hike! On a recent trip, we went on a hike to see three beautiful waterfalls. I had done my research and we looked forward to going to the base of the falls to put our feet in. As we came to the first waterfall overlook, we marveled at the view and took our pictures, but both of us were ready to get to the base. We continued down the trail; when we didn’t see a sign within 100 yards, we went back searching, thinking we may have missed it. We came to a small opening that appeared to be a trail but looked very steep. I was determined to get down there because I knew the view would be worth it. Dean was a little apprehensive, but he decided that we should check it out. Long story short, we fell, we got muddy, sweaty and quickly realized that
this was NOT a part of the trail. We made our way down the trail to find an obvious sign around the corner about 50 yards past where we had turned around that said “base of falls.” All we had to do was keep walking, trust the trail, and we would have found what we were looking for. We went down the trail and it was everything we hoped for. We had a great time, took some wonderful pictures, and laughed about the whole thing.
You see, I tried to make my own path instead of following what was right in front of us. How many times have we tried to take a shortcut that got us lost? Or tried to put together furniture without reading the directions? Many times, when we do these things we realize, if we had just followed the directions, we would have saved so much time.
God has given us the directions on how to get to heaven, but sometimes we want to go our own way. We want to make a path for ourselves instead of doing it the way God told us to. We always say, “everything’s in God’s timing,” but we don’t like to actually wait for it.
I am reminded of Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
The word of God has everything we will ever need in this life. As Christians, we aspire to hide God’s word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11). We try to study his word to the point where it becomes a part of us and scriptures come to mind when faced with the cares of this world. When we are faced with the troubles and decisions that come with life, making the right choice should be a piece of cake, right? Well, not necessarily. Sometimes when faced with decisions we don't know what to do. We have free will, so how do we make sure that we are allowing God’s will to work in our lives? How do we know if it is God’s pathway or our own? The Bible does not say whether or not I should take this job in a new city, so how do I know if I should go or not?
At one time or another in our life we will be faced with a new opportunity, a big decision, or a crossroads where we may not know what to do. Although I am pretty young, I have had quite a few life-changing decisions that I had to make, and there are a few things that have helped me along the way. Please contact me via the blog if you have things that help you.
The first one is obvious: PRAY
Do we really believe that prayer changes things? I have gone through times in my life
where prayer was just a routine; I did not take it as seriously as I should have, but I have grown to realize how valuable prayer is. For example, I cannot walk into city hall and demand to speak to the mayor without an appointment. I cannot go to the state capital and ask to speak to the governor, and I definitely cannot go to the White House and ask to speak to the President. BUT I can go to the God of the universe, the Creator of all, the Alpha and Omega, at any time! He has an open ear to me, and he works in my life. I love the passage in Psalm 139. The first 3
verses read,
“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my
rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.”
This tells me that God knows me. At any given moment in my life, he knows exactly what I am facing. According to John 9:31, if I am a worshiper who does his will, he will hear me. What an awesome God we serve. As we face new challenges, let us go to our heavenly Father in prayer. Once we have prayed, our mind is in the correct place to allow God to work.
The next thing I like to ask myself is, “is this job, opportunity, or life decision going to hinder me from doing the will of God?” This is a big one. As Christians, our purpose is to know God, love God, love people, and make God’s word known to them (Matthew 22:36-40; Mark 16:15). If whatever we are facing is going to hinder us from doing this to the best of our ability, then it is not God’s will. God’s will is that you fear Him and keep His commands (Ecclesiastes 12:13). If we make a decision that hinders us from doing so then that is our will, not His.
Finally, I like to seek wise counsel (Proverbs 19:20-21). I talk to Christians I trust and who I know have my best interest in mind. Obviously, my husband is my first go to, but also my parents and other older members in the body of Christ who I know have been right where I am.
When it comes to opportunities in life, if God has it for you, it cannot miss you, and if it misses you, it was never for you. Sometimes God closes the door; we have no right to try to open it again. When God speaks through his word and unfolds a path before us it is our job to walk it in.
Colossians 1:10-12
“10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.”
