In your walk with God, have you ever found yourself going down a road on the way to a place you had dreamed and planned about, only to come to a fork in the road? Perhaps you stopped and looked at the path that led off to the right and wondered briefly if there were great adventures awaiting you in that direction. You have felt very uncomfortable about where an unfamiliar path might lead. Then you continued down the road you were planning to go on. Sometime later, you may have reflected on that fork in the road. The thought may have even come to you that you could have missed God’s direction. How can you know you are on the right road? Did you ever consider looking at the map? God has put a road map in front of us, yet many never look at it, or study it to find the way in times of decision.
My husband and I love to drive around the countryside. It’s so relaxing to take off early in the morning and just drive. We don’t always know where we’re headed, but we find interesting places to visit. Sometimes we drive through familiar territory, or again, we may drive through a neighboring state, looking for out-of-the way places. We might think we know where we are and where we’re headed, but then find ourselves hopelessly lost. About that time, he’ll say, “Honey, why don’t you look at the map?” Amazingly, it always shows us where we need to go to get back on the right road.
This is often true in the life of a Christian. God has called you to follow him and most of us really want to do that. The problem is that we think we see the whole picture for our life. However, the Bible says, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (I Cor. 13:12) It looks like it’s time to get out the road map - the Bible! There are times God is very detailed and to the point, like the following scripture. “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." (Isa. 30:21) You may say, “But God never told me that!” Well, have you been asking? Have you been praying and seeking God in this particular situation? Let me tell you a big truth, God isn’t going to talk to you, if you don’t talk to him.
Have you ever made wrong decisions by not talking to God, or waiting for an answer and found you often paid a price for doing that? It is God’s desire to give you direction. When we take off on our own, we usually have very little understanding of what to do. How do we know the decisions we come to are God’s desire for us? “A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?” (Prov. 0:24) There are instances in our life when we ignore the Holy Spirit’s leading and follow our own wishes. We may even pray about it and don’t like what we know is an answer, so we continue to tell God what we want.
A good example of this kind of decision making is when someone is house hunting and they find what they consider to be their dream home. They know they can’t afford it, but they pray about it, which they should do. They go ahead with trying to buy it and are turned down by the bank; the sale of their old house falls through and it looks like nothing is going to work out. They continue to pray, “God, I know you want me to have that new house of my dreams, even though I can’t afford it - I don’t even have the right furniture and will have to buy new, somehow.” The realtor doesn’t really want to lose this deal as it involves more than one house, so he comes back and says, “I think I can find a way to get a loan for you”. Wow! God has made a way.
The old house sells when the price is lowered; then they buy the new one. They were right - the furniture didn’t look good, so they went out and charged more, along with a lot of other things they didn’t think of before. Now they have so many bills, they can’t possibly pay them all every month, so they have to juggle them. Eventually, it all catches up and either they have to sell the house, or lose it. Now, they are in worse shape than before, because even if they sell, they have so many bills, by the time they pay them off, there is nothing left to buy another house.
In the above example, God had answered their prayer several times, but they wanted their own way. When we finally get our own way, it may turn out to be a poor decision. The Living Bible puts in very plainly in Proverbs 1:29-31: “For you closed your eyes to the facts and did not choose to reverence and trust the Lord, and you turned your back on me, spurning my advice. That is why you must eat the bitter fruit of having your own way, and experience the full terrors of the pathway you have chosen.”
Most of us have chosen our own road at one time or another and have “eaten the bitter fruit” of it. It’s not a pleasant experience and it seems as though we would learn from it, but we don’t. We prefer to wander down a wide, tree-lined avenue that appears to be headed towards our castle in the sky. We don’t like to follow the hard, narrow path before us and trust God for where it leads us.
Let’s look at the roadmap again: “Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” (Pr. 4: 25-27) Even if the road ahead looks difficult, don’t compromise, don’t cheat or lie. It only leads to destruction. You know when you are going in the wrong direction. You can hear God’s voice telling you to turn away. He does not direct us the wrong way. “The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.” (Pr. 10:9)
Today, you may be at a fork in the road, having to make a decision of some kind. There may be a way that appears easy and it’s what you really want to do, but in the deep recesses of your heart, you know it’s not the way God wants you to go. Some may describe this feeling as a “check in the spirit”. Don’t ignore the “still, small voice of God”. Psalm 23 tells us that, “He leads me in paths of righteousness.”
There are times when God shows us ‘tough love’ and we cringe at this experience, but if you’ve ever had to use that kind of love on your children, or an abusive spouse, you find that it works. It’s like taking the person you love and handing them totally to God - out of your hands and into His. Out of your control and into God’s leading. Is it easy? No, but his ways are greater than ours and He knows what’s best.
In summary, let’s look in Jeremiah 6:16. “This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”
No comments:
Post a Comment