Seek God’s Direction
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3.5,6
Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7.13,14
These two readings from the Bible have been embedded in my mind for as long as I can remember. The first reading reminds me that in my lifetime, I have traveled down many, many different paths.
Some were successful; some were not successful. Whether the path led to success or to failure, I always gave thanks to God that he was with me along the way. At that particular point and time in my life, I thought I was doing the right thing with my life. Only God knows if I was or was not.
What I can say, is that despite my doing God’s will or my will, I have always acknowledged God and asked him to lead, guide, and direct me in all that I do. As long as I do this, I know if I make a wrong turn, God will soon have me back on the right path.
Acknowledging God in all that I do and all that I have has always been a part of my life, and will continue to have a part in my life as long as I have a mind and am capable of doing so.
This is good news to me. It always has been and always will be.
On the other hand, the second reading has always concerned me. As a teenager, as a young adult, and now as a seasoned adult, it concerns me. I worried that when I was much younger, many people were entering the wide gate and were on their way to destruction.
I felt as if fewer people were choosing to enter through the narrow gate that leads to something much better than destruction. Over half of a century later, I still have this haunting feeling that people are still choosing to enter through the wide gate at the risk of destroying their lives, the life of the Christian church, and the life of the United States of America.
As we begin a new year, it is my sincerest of prayers that each and every one of you reading this column this week will begin thinking about which path you are on in life. If you have not entered through the narrow gate, if you are not acknowledging God in all that you think, say and do, I pray that you will begin doing this now.
Life as we know it is really a vanishing vapor. We are here today. We are gone tomorrow. We need to make sure that the choices we make in 2014 include God so that we can travel down the right path or paths, experience all that God intends for us to experience, and receive something other than destruction in our lives both now and for eternity.
God bless each one of you. May you find time to place God in all areas of your life and may 2014 be the best year you have experienced in a long time.