“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” (Pr 16:9 AV)
Boy, am I so
glad for this! My heart may want to do
one thing, but ultimately, it is the LORD who decides whether I get to or
not. This does not mean the LORD condones sin. He, in His infinite wisdom, has given
mankind a will of its own. Each
individual is free to make choices. The
ability to do such is what God granted.
What we do with that ability is all on us. There is another way in which we can look at this. God’s hand of protection is active and
present. Even if our wicked hearts
wanted to sin, sometimes God frustrates the ability to do just that. Putting sin aside for the remainder of this
entry, I would rather consider how much of my plans and God’s plans came into
conflict and He controlled the outcome of my life. Just because it may have been in my heart to
do something or be someone, God has the final say. I can devise all I want. But unless the LORD sanctions my plans, it
may be impossible to pursue them. I, for
one, may not have found these times particularly comfortable, but I am very
grateful for them. I am glad the LORD
directs my steps. I shudder to think
where I would be if He didn’t.
When I think of
this I think of my youngest son, Josh. Josh
is a remarkable person. He is a natural
leader. He has the disposition to make
decisions quickly, heads in a direction he is convinced he should go, and motivates
others to follow. Currently, he pastors
a medium-sized church and if he continues on the path God has laid out, it will
grow into a large one. But that wasn’t his
first choice. Growing up, he played
baseball. A super-intelligent kid, he
also was a talented pitcher. He played
little league, in high school, and was even picked up by a college team. Because of his lack of adequate coaching, he didn’t
have all the skills he should have had and was rejected by major colleges in
the Illinois and Kentucky markets.
Because of the way he was used in high school, his arm was also all used
up by the second year of his college career.
He began to lose interest in a game in which he would never excel above
his peers. Josh tried engineering and
while plowing through the coursework, realized it wasn’t for him. Then he wanted to pursue law enforcement and
got a job as a loss prevention officer for a major retailer. While in that capacity, he realized God was
calling him into the ministry all along.
It was rather comical. He was the
one who walked away from theological debates between me and his two
brothers. He had no interest in the deeper
things of the Bible. Then God called
him. Praise the LORD God directed his
steps.
I have often
laid awake at night thinking of how much of my life I would have changed if I
had the opportunity to do so. The
mistakes of life are the things I would change.
Looking at all the experiences over the last forty years or so, I can
say God directed my steps. When it came
to making choices that would have destroyed my future, He intervened and saved
me from a life of heartache. When it comes
to other events, I stop and think how different my life would have been if
something else would have transpired.
But God knows what He is doing.
He always knows best. Even if we
would rather not, it is part of God’s sovereign plan. Trusting this truth is hard to do, sometimes.
Believing it is all for good is a hard
pill to swallow when you are going through the trial of your life. However, remembering you are not the first to
go through it and you won't be the last, all the while watching how the LORD
brings others through the same fire, helps one get by day by day. God’s sovereignty is not something we can opt
out of. We cannot choose to allow, or
not allow, God to be God. He will be
whether we accept it or not. The thing
to do is always trust the LORD knows what He is doing and thank Him for directing
our steps. As we react in gratitude,
maybe He will strengthen us and show us why it is all happening.
No comments:
Post a Comment