Key texts: Isaiah 46:10, Proverbs 14:12
The Christian walk is not a straight path paved with our preferences, it is a winding road shaped by surrender. We often approach God with a blueprint of our lives, asking Him to sign off on our plans. But faith isn’t about convincing God to bless our ambitions; it is about trusting Him enough to lay them down.
In contrast, God’s ways go beyond our limited, stone-throw vision which is self-centred and shaped by a hunger for instant gratification. Our hearts crave comfort, success, and recognition now. But God, in His infinite wisdom, sees beyond the horizon our eyes are fixated on. As the Potter, God devises means by which He mold’s us into vessels of good works, fit to minister to others. It is through trials that He works and refines our character. However, the choice is ours: What will it be our way or God’s?
In Isaiah 46:10, God reclaims His divine prerogative as the reason why His way is best: “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure: ”
God’s desire for our lives is that we do not perish, but obtain eternal life. His goal and ultimate aim is to prepare us to reach the eternal destination even through tribulations, if that is what must be done, as stated in Acts 14:22.
“If He saw in us nothing whereby He might glorify His name, He would not spend time in refining us. He does not cast worthless stones into His furnace. It is valuable ore that He refines.” (Ministry of Healing, 471.2)
“…..No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” — (Psalm 84:11) When we entrust God to have His way in our lives, we are assured that we will reach the eternal expected end—compared to following our own ways and experiencing many scars and wounds, only to ultimately face death in the end. Our ways deceptively promise us temporal joy and satisfaction at the expense of eternal riches.
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 14:12)
Our ways will only prove destructive because we see only what we live out now. How then do we choose our own ways when we are so oblivious to what can occur in a split second? It is best to allow the omniscient God to lead the way, as He sees best for each and every one of us to shape and mold us individually into the stature of men and women He desires us to be. This can only be accomplished when we surrender all our ways and allow God to have His way in us. Today, He still pleads: “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.” (Proverbs 23:26)
God desires us to surrender all to Him and trust His leading in righteousness. We then simply watch the unfolding of His divine plan for our lives.
Reflection:
Will you today surrender your ways to Jesus, our faithful Guide, and say, “Thy way, not mine, O Lord”? Do you acknowledge that your ways, though they seem right, are ultimately destructive if God is not leading? Which way is more rewarding, your Maker’s way or your own? Choose wisely.
Prayer:
Jesus, Saviour, pilot my life through the boisterous waves of life. It is clear to me that if I control my life and follow my own ways, I will go into perdition, for I will not be ready to meet You when You come again. I distrust myself, and I choose to trust You who sees and knows the end from the beginning. I pray that You lead me by Your gentle hand into the plans You set for me beforehand. In Christ’s name I plead, Amen.