What's Your Direction in Life?

By Alexandra Copeland

If we truly believed in the incredible power and intelligence of our Heavenly Father, we would never question the path that He has set for every believer. Proverbs 3:5(KJV) tells us, “5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” The heart is the very seat of our beings. It’s the inner self, the center of one’s being where we believe, trust, and exercise faith. The heart is where we decide right and wrong, where we discern between what is precious to us and what is not. It’s very easy to see that the heart is a major control center of our existence, governing our emotions and creativity. God tells us in Proverbs 3:5 to maneuver the reigns of our hearts in such a way that they are focused entirely on trusting Him, because He is the only One capable of directing our paths.

Too Big for Our Britches
You and I should be consistently asking ourselves, “What’s my direction in life?” because sometimes we get off track. One of the ways this happens is that we become, as my grandmother would say, too big for our britches. This was her way of conveying that a person was thinking more of themselves than they ought; they were getting a big head through an attitude of arrogance. All of us have our own personal agendas and opinions about what we ought to be doing and how we ought to be doing it. Sometimes we lean totally on our own understanding, and don’t acknowledge God as we are told in Proverbs 3:5. This approach is not optimum and will ultimately leave us feeling unfulfilled, emotionally exhausted, and lacking in resources. This isn’t what God wants for us. Jesus Christ told us in John 10:10 that he came to make a more than abundant life available, and the way to living at this level is to lean on God and trust totally in His Word.

Rubbernecking
Heavenly Father has blessed each of us with certain talents, gifts, and abilities. All of us have things that we do, and no one can do them quite the way that we can. A lot of us are not appreciating our individual uniqueness. We lose direction because of rubbernecking. We’re constantly looking at others, wishing that we could sing, pray, praise, or worship like them, but that shouldn’t be our aim. We are strategically positioned and purposely appointed to carry forth the task we’ve been called to accomplish. We wouldn’t have time to look at others if we were busy honing, excelling, and attending to the purpose for which we were called. Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” We must remind ourselves that God created us, and He doesn’t make mistakes. We should be praying for His divine direction, and we should also look to Him to help us walk the path He’s laid before us.

Wrong Definition of Success
Sometimes, the direction in life we’ve chosen is based on the world’s standards. We begin to define success the way society defines success, and it is completely off track with God’s agenda for our lives. Proverbs 14:12(NLT) tells us, “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” The devil is God’s archenemy. As God’s children, the devil is our enemy as well. Again, John 10:10 tells us that satan is a thief whose mission is to kill, steal, and destroy. Many of us, even the most seasoned believer, can be tricked into thinking that something is the right way to go, when it is really a setup to keep us away from God’s blessings. The way to not get tricked is to stay close to God. Psalm 91:1(NLT) assures us, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” God will direct our paths if we are diligent to seek and hear His voice.

Move at the Pace of God’s Love
Heavenly Father designed life to be a moving and ever-changing vehicle. It doesn’t slow down and wait for us. We have to keep pace with it. Life has a momentum that is on track with God’s Divine Will. And in order for you and me to stay on the path that He has set before us, we need to have stamina.

What is stamina? Stamina is the ability to sustain prolonged physical and/or mental effort. It’s having endurance, fortitude, strength, energy and grit. Most of us do okay in the physical and mental arena, but when it comes to spiritual stamina, we forget God’s directive. He’s told us to renew our minds to His Word, because His Word is going to keep us aimed in the direction of His love and continually energized to run the race He’s set before us.

Romans 8:28 (NLT) tells us, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” There’s a synchronization to our lives when our hearts are knit together by God’s love, and we’re striving to walk according to His purpose. Our path is clear, we can see in front of us, and things work out for our good. So the answer to the question, “What’s your direction in life?” should be anchored in a commitment to let Jesus Christ take the lead. Then we’ll be in synch with God’s Will and the blessings He rewards for our diligence to seek Him first.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.