Do You Go That Way?

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:9-11

I was reading my devotional today, and the devotional itself struck me as really interesting this morning. It kind of was on discovering God's Will. It talked about how sometimes, when an opportunity knocks or a door is opened to you, it doesn't necessarily mean that you should take that opportunity. That sometimes, what looks like it may be a door opening from God, may actually not be, and could take you farther away from God. Hmm. That is quite a bit to think on!

The devotional also went on to say that just because we don't receive resistance from God, it doesn't mean he wants us to keep on that path. That in those instances, he wants us to decide. He wants us to choose to stop and take a different path and seek out what his will for our lives truly is. I guess I can see this. A job opportunity come up, one which seems great and everything you could want in a job. And it is great, the job itself is good, and you make a very nice income. Yet because of the job, you spend less time with family or with God, and we continue with the job, because surely God provided this job for you. And maybe he didn't. Maybe he wants you to seek him more, and take that other job which will provide you more time with your family and with Him.

This really is quite a bit to think on! So basically, we need to pray about every opportunity that comes along. We really need to focus our minds and our eyes on God and ask for his help in discerning his will for our lives.

"Folly delights a man who lacks judgment,
but a man of understanding keeps a straight course." Proverbs 15:21

I guess when I think about this, one of the things that comes to mind, is that when we are debating a change, maybe we need to ask ourselves, how does that change bring glory to God? Let's say we are contemplating a job change. How will that change bring glory to God? Will it give you more time to spend with God? Maybe it will pay you a little more so that you can give more money to God's works. But then with that new money, do you have to spend that much more time with the new job? There are really so many options, so many different ways to look at it. While I profess to be no expert, it seems to me that there is only one thing that you can do in these times- and that is pray about it. No decision worth making should be done immediately. It should take time, and prayer, maybe seeking consul from an elder. Will the right decision ultimately be made? Time will tell, and if it doesn't feel right after a while, that's always an opportunity to try again.