Following God’s Direction
Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you, a voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go.’ whether to the right or to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21)
2020 was a rough year for everyone. There’s no doubt about it. No matter what part of the world one lives in, everyone everywhere was touched by the COVID pandemic in some way, shape, or form. We all learned, anew, the frailty of our safety, security, and subsistence. Everything we believed in, hoped for, dreamed of, and saved for has the potential to be lost in a single, unexpected, irretrievable, uncontrolled moment – everything, that is, except for God.
Nothing that happened last year caught our Creator by surprise. He knew what would happen in 2020, as He does what will occur in 2021 and all the years yet to come. As Hebrews 13:8 tells us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” In a world filled with anxiety, tension, and insecurity, that thought gives me great comfort.
On New Year’s Day, my brother asked me if I had any New Year’s resolutions or if I even believed in such things. I told him that I didn’t, per se, but that my prayer is the same as it always is – for God to make His way known to me in the days yet to come.
I often wish that I could know, for certain, what God would have me do with my life. I strive to serve Him but know that I usually come up empty-handed. I pray for wisdom and discernment but still struggle for confidence in the decisions that I make. I weigh the pros and cons of both sides of a matter before determining what path I will choose but still wonder, at times, if I am making the right choices. Can any of us ever know for sure if we are doing the right thing?
One of my favorite reads in 2020 was Pastor David Jeremiah’s book, Forward. In it, Dr. Jeremiah writes the following:
“You’re traveling an appointed way filled with promise and productivity. Everything in your past has prepared you for what’s next, and every promise of God will provide what’s needed. This is no time to let anxiety, apathy, or anything else hamper you.”
Easier said than done. We are all human, and the world is an uncertain place right now.
Last November, I began sending out monthly meeting recurrences for 2021, and my boss told me she appreciated this reminder of future events. “I’ll be happy when this year is over,” she told me. “I’ve had enough of 2020.”
But how would a new calendar change anything, I wondered? How different is any day from the next, let alone January third from December third? Can switching to a new year modify anything other than our viewpoint?
The truth is, the only thing we have control of in life is our perspective. The loss of a job, for example, can bring worry and trepidation or determination and hope. It’s all a matter of our perception – or, better still, our faith and trust in God’s provision.
“I focus on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (Philippians 3:13-14)
I have no idea what changes this new year will bring to my existence, and I fully accept that my life in 2021 could change in a moment, just as it did in 2020.
What I do know with absolute certainty is that God will be with me every step of the way. I pray that He will guide my actions and show me whether I should move to the right or the left, as the prophet Isaiah foretold.
With each passing day, I pray that I will become bolder in my faith and testimony, strengthened by my Creator, who loves me unconditionally. I can’t be sure that I will always make the right decisions, but I can affirm that I will keep praying over my choices, weighing the consequences, and asking God to give me the discernment to know which way I should go.
As David Jeremiah explains, each new day brings promise and possibility when we surrender our will to God’s. “When you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, your future is always unfolding at the speed of grace. God is waiting to use you now more than ever, and your life is far from finished. It’s just beginning.”
While 2021 remains unknown, I take strength in the promise that God is always with me. Nothing will happen this year that I can’t face with my Creator by my side. I serve a risen Savior, and I will always love and follow HIm. “Show me Your way, o Lord; teach me Your paths.” (Psalm 25:4) May it be so for all of us – in this year and all the days of our lives.