Choose The Right Road

I remember on December 16, 2012, a friend at church sat down and began sharing a vision he had. He was questioning why people would want to thank God for trials to get them where they are at in God? He said God gave him a vision of two roads, one going straight and the other was a squiggly road where someone is constantly going off and back on the road. His message was that a person does NOT have to go through a bunch of trials (going off the trail) to get where they need to go in God. It IS possible to stay on the straight road IF we keep focused straight ahead (on Jesus) and not let the distractions pull us off track.

I do totally agree here and I have found Proverbs 4 to be a great source to read concerning this and can be of help in aiding you into keeping on the right path. Proverbs 4:11 says “I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.” Read the whole 4^th chapter of Proverbs.

But even though I agree with this, I also know that the Bible says in James 1:2 to count it all joy when trials come, which means that there are going to be many who can't keep that perfect track record of staying on the straight and narrow for whatever reason. Many distractions or trials are going to come, it says in John 16:33 but for us to take heart because He has overcome the world.

Our journey of life is made up of many different roads or paths that we come to and there are decisions that must be made before we can go on. We must choose the right road. There will be times where you will be unsure of what to do, and even after seeking God, you can't seem to get answers, or maybe you've got so much going on around you and it just seems so hard to hear.

I hear it stated a lot, “You better make sure it's God telling you to do that?” My question is, Or what?! Is God going to strike you down? No. Is He going to leave you? No! Is He going to stop loving you? NO! His Word says He will never leave you and nothing can separate us from His love. We are all going to make mistakes and we have! And God has not left us or stopped loving us!

People who constantly make that statement are putting fear in you. Do not be afraid to make a decision for fear of it being the wrong one. Letting fear dominate in this way causes people to become indecisive out of fear of making a bad decision. Making a bad decision is better than indecisiveness.

By making a decision, you force an outcome. If you hadn't acted, those unknowns would still be unknowns. The sooner you decide, the sooner you get moving and the sooner you find out if it was a right or wrong decision. Taking action sometimes means taking risks. Never be afraid to take risks. There is not anything unfixable with God, for He works all things out for the good.

People are so afraid to even make a choice, fearing it will be the wrong one, thus resulting in indecisiveness, and end up going nowhere. Keep in mind that a wrong decision is so much better than indecision. We may make wrong decisions and there also may be some consequences for those wrong decisions but God will never leave us and He can work with our mistakes as well, and turns them into something to work for our good.

The Bible says in James 1:8, that a double-minded man, one who can't make a decision, is unstable in all his ways. And he can't expect to receive anything from the Lord.  This person is not going to get anywhere in life as long as he stays undecisive. Nothing will ever change for him.

“Do not be defeated by wrong choices you have made in the past. And don't let past decisions define who you are in the present. Each moment provides a fresh opportunity to draw near to Me and enjoy My Presence.” In Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

Do the best you can with what you have where you are. Success is not circumstantial. We usually focus on what we're doing or where we're going but God's primary concern is who we're becoming in the process. We talk about “doing” the will of God, but the will of God has much more to do with “being” than doing. It's not about being in the right place at the right time; it's about being the right person, even if you find yourself in the wrong circumstances. Success has nothing to do with how gifted or how resourced you are; it has everything to do with glorifying God in any and every situation by making the most of it.

I will end with this quote and share a personal situation on this topic in the next writing.

We need people who are more afraid of missing opportunities than making mistakes – people who are more afraid of lifelong regrets than temporary failure – People who dare to dream the unthinkable and attempt the impossible. – Mark Batterson

Connie J. Schmoll