Which Road Do I Follow?

We know we have a prepared path, and each of our paths are important for what we are to do in life. We have a desire to please God, but then comes the ultimate questions shared by all God’s faithful ones: How do I know what God wants? What is his will for me?

If we were to draw a straight line with our birth at the beginning of the line, and our death at the end of the line, we would have lived the perfect life. Now enter our human nature and all the distractions of life. Our world offers us many things that cause us to lose our focus on God. Because of our free will, God allows us to alter our path. We often stray off that straight line, go the wrong way, and only with God’s graces do we get back to where we need to be.  Sometimes other people or the sin in our lives may pull us off our path. When we choose to leave our path, we may find difficulty and will struggle with the temptations of our world.

But the good news is that God understands our hearts and our desire to please him, and in his love for us, he will never give up in getting us back to our straight line. He knows we are not perfect, and he knows our weaknesses. God will intervene as much as our free will allows. It is up to us to bring our struggles and weaknesses to him asking for strength and guidance. When we ask, we receive all we need and more. We always have a choice, but when we choose to allow God to make our choices for us, we allow him to open and close the doors of our life. The more we do this, the more we will understand how to listen and trust him.

On my own path in making a decision, I have learned if I go down the wrong road, then God will close that door and open another road to follow. Sometimes it seems like he slams the door and other times, he flings it wide open. Many years ago, when I was a classroom teacher, I had been praying for God’s will in doing something else. A friend directed me to a job in a nearby town, and I went to interview for the position before I even filled out the application. However, after the interview, I decided that job would not work for me. My girls were young and needed to be picked up after school, and I wanted to be close by if they needed me. So basically, I closed that door myself. About 10 days later, God reopened the door, and the man I interviewed with called and was looking for my application. I explained the situation with my girls. He asked me to come back in, and we worked out my family needs. He hired me, and I worked there for 16 years. God taught me a lot through that job and how I needed to trust him.

Although we may open or close doors in good faith, God knows our true heart, and will bring us what is his will, and what we are to do. We must remember God’s timing is perfect, and he may take his time opening another door or closing a current one. We have to trust him and let him make changes along the way. Although it is not easy to do, the more we give our path to him each day, the easier it becomes. Never stop praying for God’s will in your life and which road to follow. He is waiting for us to ask.

Copyright © 2024 Marsha Luke – Rights for non-commercial reproduction granted: May be copied in its entirety, but neither retyped nor edited.