Following GOD'S Path

I have been reminded lately of the importance of following God's path for my life and no one else's. We know that we are not to follow the stardards of the world and the things the world deems as important in life. As a Christian, our goals are entirely different from society's at large....we are not striving for wealth, or success, or power, or status as our main ambition. We seek to follow the Lord and His calling in our lives.

However, it is so easy to fall prey to following the Christian world's standards. There is tremendous pressure in some churches to get involved, and while getting involved is good to connect with other believers and build relationships and serve the body of Christ, we still must stay true to following God's specific call on our lives.

I am constantly bombarded with "opportunities" to teach kid's classes or VBS and attend a women's conference or dinner, a retreat, or biblestudy, or help with this or that outreach....truly it is a never-ending to do list. It can easily come across as categorizing someone as a lesser Christian, or selfish, if one doesn't do all those things. Yet I'm firmly of the belief that loving God with all of my heart and life is my main focus and that I must remain true to what HE has called me to do in my life. HE will put on my heart what and where and when He wants me to serve. He will open doors to the ministries and activities He wants me to enter into. I believe the pressure is just as great in the Christian world, even greater, for it is done in the name of Christ, to jump on the bandwagon, as it is in the secular world. But through it all I still believe I must remain true to what God is calling me to do and it may look very different from what everyone else is doing.

I don't think Christians should label or judge others by their involvement or service. I think how Christians live their lives is between each person and God. I heard someone recently tell me not to make my family an idol and thereby forgoe serving others. Well, as offended as I was by this allusion to my choices, I know that my family IS my ministry. There are other ways I serve as well, and they may not be widely publicized or well known, and that too is okay.

There is also a great deal of pressure to share Christ with others. I firmly believe in the great commission and know it is our main call as Christians. However, I think that if you love the Lord with all of your heart and life, with everything in you, His love will be evident in your life. You will not be able to NOT share Him with others. Other people that you spend more than a passing moment with should know that you are a Christian, it should be evident what you believe as people spend time with you. 

I know, as sure as I breathe, that God will open of doors of opportunity to share our faith with others and we must be faithful and eager to walk right in. That is exciting because you see God's hand in it...you see God Almighty working!!! and you get to be a part of it.

But to put pressure on people by constantly questioning, how many people have you led to Christ, or how many people have you shared the Gospel with this week? Have you invited your neighbors and co-workers to church? Well, I think it turns it not only into a contest, but it is taking salvation out of God's hands and trying to put it in our own.

If God wants me to share with my neighbor, then He will provide chance opportunities for us to meet and talk. I've seen Him do it!  If God wants Chad to invite a co-worker to church, He will open up a conversation. I've seen Him do it. We may, in fact, plant seeds everyday and yet not be the one to reap the harvest. It is all as God has planned. We are to obediently walk the path that He has given us, and to suggest that since we are not closing the deal we are not walking obediently, to me is heresy.

So....I choose to walk the path God has chosen for me. I choose to follow Christ. Despite pressure from the secular world and the Christian world alike, I will couragously walk in obedience to the life God has called me to. I will not succomb to the pressure to live how others deem worthy. I encourage you to do the same!

Patience...I have so little of it on my own. I am severly lacking in this quality. It's lack thereof defines my days and hinders my testimony. Without it, my temper flairs and regret pours in.

Compassion is also not in full abundance and yet sorely needed. Truly caring for another's suffering and pain, or even the circumstances of someone's life. Or more pointedly, understanding when my kids "mess-up" or make poor choices and remembering that they are only their age and still learning, as we all are.

Mercy and grace, what a gift to posess and distribute freely. Second chances! Not always being called to account for what we have done wrong. Mistakes are made all the time. Mercy gives us another chance that we really don't deserve, patiently guiding us again in the right direction. Grace blesses us beyond what we could ever deserve, delighting our souls in it's gift.

Servitude? Oh to have a servant's heart. To not just ask for help to make my life easier, but to give it freely. To strive to do for others instead of always taking. Not thinking of myself and how tired I am or what I need and want, but what I can do for someone else to make their life better.

I could certainly use the gift of long-suffering. My mentality runs more along the lines of "That is not fair!" and must be made right. I tend to voice those wrong-doings instead of swallowing them down and moving on. I expect my family to get it right the first time, instead of realizing how long-suffering God is on my own behalf, giving me opportunity after opporunity to get it right. Long-suffering listens to someone else's woes and concerns for the 100th time, patiently, because more than likely, they are doing the same for me!

Wisdom...oh grant me this my Lord! How I desperately need it in my day to day life!! In the morning as I start my day, on the fly as I run through it, and at night as I contemplate the deeper concerns. I want to follow your ways and lead my family on the road you have chosen for us, but I need your wisdom, God, every moment.

Love...if the world and my life were ruled by love how differently it would look! Who would need to do "great" things? All things would be great if characterized by love. Love listens without impatience to every word, eye-to-eye, full attention given. Love guides words so that they overflow with compassion and grace instead of cutting, impatient remarks or irritation. Love keeps its mouth shut! Love smiles often and hugs freely. It encourages and doesn't criticize. Love goes out of it's way to help, even when inconvenient.

In other words, I need God to fill me up to overflowing. I need an overabundance of Him in my life so that His fruit characterizes my life! I also need to lighten up and live~stop worrying and start living in Him! Gushing with His mercy, grace, love and delight. Laughing, truly living each moment, not just surviving, and reflecting who He is in the life He has given!!

I tell you, it is so easy to get caught up in every day life that we forget to connect with God. I mean truly connect, more than an occasional passing thought here and there.

We are tired, we are busy, our minds are full of things to do and figure out. It is so easy to let all of that push God right out of our thoughts. I often find myself weary, so worn thin I cannot reach those deeper thoughts. And yet we are called to encounter Him everyday and live for Him in every detail of our lives.

We are called to do all things for Him...the sweeping, the laundry, teaching our kids and running to the grocery store. Our conversations should be for His glory and every circumstance a chance to gain a glimpse of Him and His power, providence or love. 

I need to find a way to quiet myself before Him each morning and just sit with Him. I want to clear my mind of my to-do list and agenda for the day and simply be with Him, the King of Glory, my Savior, my Redeemer, my God. I want to experience Him before I start my day and fill up with worship and praise of who He is...gain perspective of my life before I live it anew. 

I want to step forth in a mindset of seeing Him in the details of my day and allowing Him to guide my every word and action. Lofty goals, indeed, but something worth aiming for, knowing I myself can do nothing, but through Him all things are possible.

Through my foggy brain or high speed thoughts, I want to connect with my God and make Him King. King of my day and King of my life. This is my desire. Help me Lord, in this endeavor!