Choosing God's path leads to a productive and prosperous life. A life led by the Holy Spirit and obedience to God's word allows God to reveal His purpose to us and His purpose for our lives.
How often have you felt like your life was on a merry-go-round… you run in high gear but never seem to get anywhere? All day long you run, but you feel you accomplished very little.
Do you make the same bad decision over and over? Your poor decisions lead to disasters in your life. Then, you firmly commit to never repeating that same mistake again. But, a few months later, you realize you are in the same old mess because you have done it again. You have repeated the same mistake by making the same bad decision. Sometimes, we just don't learn from our mistakes. We continue in the same circular path, ending up in the same place.
Why is this true? It is because of running the race alone and not including God in every decision.
The Israelite people demonstrated this lesson for us. Because of their lack of faith in God, they did not cross over River Jordan into the Promised Land. God saw that the Israelite people needed to learn about faith and learn depend on Him….so, He led them on a little hike around the desert. They wandered around in the desert for 40 years.
God's way is the way to get off of life's merry-go-round! FAITH IN GOD. We can change our wandering by putting our faith and trust in God. He has a plan and a purpose for us. When we trust and obey God, we receive His directions and His purpose for our lives.
Without God, life is a merry-go-round. At first it seems like fun, but we get nowhere. Without God, we wander around in circles in our own desert. Then one day we wake up and wonder where our life has gone and what it was all about?
That can all change. . .there is hope. God has a purpose for each of us. He desires to reveal to us what His purpose is. In John 14:15-17, Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you."
When we trust and obey God, He will show us how to get off of life's merry-go-round and how to follow His path, which is straight. Under God's guidance, we can accomplish what He directs us to do.
God desires we love Him with all of our hearts, all of our minds and all of our strength. In Proverbs, He says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way. Never let yourself think you are wiser than you are; simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong. If you do, it will be like good medicine, healing your wounds and easing your pains. Honor the Lord by making Him an offering from the best of all that your land produces. If you do, your barns will be filled with grain, and you will have too much wine to store it all" (Proverbs 3:5-10).
This verse is a powerful message from God's Word. It is worth reading every morning.
God wants us to put Him first…to trust in Him, to remember Him, to obey Him, and to honor Him. The Holy Spirit is in us….ready to guide and teach us in the ways of God.
What a wonderful promise from God. But, it is our decision to follow God or go our own way. God's path is straight. Our path on our own is the merry-go-round. Make the life-changing decision, the decision to follow God.
God is a loving and caring God. He doesn't command us to do these things. He gives us the free will to choose. We must decide to do these things. When we decide to put God first in our lives, He will lead us, direct us, teach us, and strengthen us. He provides us a helper, the Holy Spirit.
When we abandon our "own thing," we can get off the merry-go-round and stop running in circles. God will show us His path which He has planned for us. After following God's path for a while, note your progress. See and feel the difference. See and feel God's love, joy, and peace.
Doing everything "my way" results in circular paths. We just keep coming back to the same old place. We don't make any real progress.
Mathematics teaches us that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. We also learned that a circle brings us back to the same place. Want to see your life change and accomplish God's purpose in your life, get on God's pathway. It is the quickest route to real progress in your world.
On God's path, we no longer travel alone and we have the wisdom of God to lead and guide us. It is the only way to eternal life.
It is beneficial to seek the fellowship of fellow Christians. Find a place of worship with other believers.
And always, always, Ask For God's Help