Where Ya Going?

There is an adage that says, "If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time." That is very true if your life goals are so limited that you are going nowhere. It seems like I get behind people on their phones at turn lanes, and the light turns green, and they just sit there, some until the light turns red again. So distracted texting in their car, and their driving needs are put on hold, which frustrates those of us with somewhere to go. In the Christian world, a pastor will get up and share a message of motivation from the Word of God, compelling the church to awaken, and the audience will ask the question WHY? Former president Harry S. Truman once said the following Men who live in the past remind me of a toy I'm sure all of you have seen. The toy is a small wooden bird called the "Floogie Bird." Around the Floogie Bird's neck is a label reading, "I fly backwards, I don't care where I'm going. I just want to see where I've been." I believe we also have some Floogie Birds in our midst, and they cannot see any further in their future than their nose. Time to change.

Psalm 25: ⁴ Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow.⁵ Lead me by your truth and teach me,    for you are the God who saves me. All day long, I put my hope in you. If you are a born-again believer, you have the power to live a life of victory and direction, and truth be known, the Holy Spirit is constantly calling you to new heights. You have to "tamp down" the Spirit and say NO when dealing with the Spirit, and over time, you may even be able to stop the noise of vision and purpose from the Lord. It is at that point you have done the wrong thing!! Born-again believers are "eat up" with vision and purpose, and the natural way that God implants this in us is unique for each follower of Jesus. God takes all of these unique features in the lives of believers, and He awakens His church to do His work. There is no excuse good enough to quit serving Jesus or put Him on a shelf.

So what do you do? You open up our heart to God's Word, and He will give you a personal vision for your life calling, and it will be confirmed by His Word. To deny God working that vision in your life is taking a step backwards, like the Floogie Bird. This is why so many Christians live out of what "used to be", instead of "what could be."

Of course, it is vital to get your plans from the leadership of the Holy Spirit and not from the worldly influence that is so prevalent today. The writer of Proverbs was very clear that we need to follow God and not the world, where He wrote Proverbs 14:12 There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. So apparently, the right decision-making could be a life-or-death issue in some cases. For the Christian, it would be more of a life-or-death of their spiritual walk, which would be disastrous. In the movie The Sixth Sense, the young boy's character, when asked what he saw, said the following words, "I see dead people." If we look closely, I believe we will see a lot of dead people who should be in a serving mode for Jesus.

When we realise where we are going "for Jesus" in our lives, our life wakes up a Godly purpose for living that impacts, not only us, but all who know us. The Psalmist gives some helpful truths to go by in the above verses. Show me God. Point out the road for me to follow. Lead me in your truth and teach me. That is a perfect formula for getting your vision moving in the right direction, and then you can look to what God will do through you in THIS day. Then you will echo the words of the Psalmist in Psalms 118:²⁴ This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren