What's for You Is for YOU!

By Alexandra Copeland

Proverbs 1:7 tells us that the reverence of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. There’s another saying that many of us have heard quite often as well. It tells us that knowledge is power. This saying doesn’t mention anything about reverencing God. So, the truth is that not all knowledge leads to power. Adam and Eve prove this point from the very beginning in the Book of Genesis. Heavenly Father commanded them not to eat of The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, but they disobeyed God. They succumbed to the temptation of the devil and ate of its fruit anyway. By eating of the forbidden tree, Adam and Eve acquired the knowledge of evil, and the consequences were exceedingly bad. It led to their eminent death, physically and spiritually. This demonstrates for us a truth that is essential for living a good life.

Everything that looks good isn’t necessarily good for us; it may not be ordained for the path God has specifically laid out for our lives. This is the critical truth that Adam’s and Eve’s debacle demonstrated for everyone. Some relationships, people, situations, and blessings may be good for others, but they are not marked out for our destinies in Christ. We need the right knowledge of God’s Word to discern what’s right according to His Will and Plan for us.

Another gem in Proverbs 14:12(NLT) tells us, “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” For anyone interested in living for God, it is very easy to know the difference between a right path and a wrong path. The right path is the one that God chooses for us, and the wrong path is the one we choose without God’s direction. He doesn’t need any help with the plan He’s mapped out for our individual lives. He knows each of us more intimately and intricately than we can imagine. He knows what we’re capable of—what we can and cannot do. He’s included all of this in His plan for the entire universe, so much so that Acts 17:26 tells us He has determined our preappointed times and the boundaries of our dwellings. He made sure we were born for such a time as this, and He even predestined the places of our births. He left nothing to chance! So, when it comes to the decisions and choices of our lives, we shouldn’t leave anything to chance either.

A spiral downward can happen so quickly in life that it’ll leave our heads spinning. This happens when we’re blindsided by something we weren’t prepared for. These things can very often be prevented if we seek God’s wisdom. Jesus Christ tells us in John 10:10 that he left the throne of God to come to earth to give us a more than abundant life. It is truly a wonderful thing that God wants us to know that He sacrificed the life of His only begotten Son; He did this so we could have a life that exceeds our greatest expectations. God also tells us in Romans 8:28-29 that all things work together for the good of those that love God and are called according to His purpose. Verse 29 says that He knew His people in advance, and He chose us to be like Christ.

This plan for our earth dwelling and transformation to the image of Christ existed long before we were born. This doesn’t mean that we walk around like puppets. God didn’t want robots. He wanted a people that would love and honor Him because they chose to, not because they had to. His greatest hope for us is that we will be like His Son and learn to love as Christ loves. These lessons regarding the love of Christ are the same for us all, but because we are so different, the lessons are divinely and uniquely administered according to what each of us needs to learn so we can accomplish our mission.

Christ set the example. He came to earth with a specific mission to accomplish, and just as God didn’t keep him in the dark about it, God doesn’t keep us in the dark either. Jesus Christ spent his mornings praying and communicating with God, and it was during these times of communion that he received directions and instructions for how to move throughout his day. If Jesus needed to do this, certainly we can’t live a successful Christian life without doing it as well. We need to stay in God’s face because He’s interested in every detail of our lives, and He wants to be involved with us intimately. 

Every blessing is not for us. Everything that looks good is not necessarily good for our well-being. Living out what we were put on earth to do is the driving force of everything in life, and these are the things we must seek God to know. Heavenly Father created the universe to be very friendly towards our efforts to walk in the purpose for which we’re called. This isn’t a ‘take the ball and run with it’ thing. It’s a moment by moment decision to check in with God through the Holy Spirit so that He will keep our feet from falling. It’s a moment by moment choice to involve Him in every aspect of our existences, because He cares for us, and He wants to help His children. That’s how love works.

Sometimes we forget how right a path can seem. We don’t notice we’ve veered away from the path we’re supposed to be on until something goes terribly wrong. It is only when our senses are rattled to the point of extreme discomfort that we wake up and recognize we missed the mark. We neglected to check in with Heavenly Father and missed the lesson we needed the learn. 

We’re appointed to be around at this time and to learn whatever we’re put here to learn.  You may be very humble, and therefore, you don’t need to learn humility as much as other believers. Perhaps you could stand to learn more about generosity; maybe you need to build your faith towards giving more. We’re not perfect and we’re going to make mistakes but being on the right path ensures we don’t learn lessons the hard way. You may wobble at times, but know that if you stay close to God through the Lord Jesus Christ, He will keep you on the right path, and He will lead you to the blessings with your name on them.■

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.