Taking time to consider the direction of our lives
When is the last time you considered your life? That is a practice too few of us practice. Do you believe you are on the right road of life? What decisions in the past have led to where you are? What is the end destination of the road you are currently on?
Thus far in this series we have taken a look at how important it is for new believers to be adequately followed up and then discipled. A steady diet of God’s Word is the primary nourishment for a growing Christian. That fact is non-negotiable. In this installment we look at how we each need to consider our lives and be willing to change to become more like Christ.
Let’s begin with Psalm 119:59: “I considered my ways and turned my feet to your testimonies.” The word “consider” comes from a root word in the original language that means to embroider. Those who are skilled in this tell me that embroidering something onto a piece of fabric is a tedious process. Both sides of the fabric must be closely watched upon each pull of the needle.
Eventually the word came to be used in a mental sense with the meaning of consider, think or ponder. I like the way the NLT translates the verse:
“I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws.”
Pondering and considering are important for any area of life, but especially in the direction of our life. When is the last time you just sat and pondered anything, much less the direction of your life?
I used to do object lessons for the kids in our church during the Sunday morning worship. One I did is appropriate to share here. I took a board and painted it to look like a road. I asked the kids this question, “Before you choose to travel on a road, what is the first thing you should do?” With kids I would always get some interesting answers. The answer is to always look down the road before you choose to travel on that road. You do not want to travel down a road that leads to an unwanted destination.
No wonder the psalmist exhorted us to ponder the road in life we choose.
We need to know where this road ends. Which eternal destination will your road lead you to? Remember, eternity is a long time to be in a place we don’t want to be. It’s not too late to change roads now while we are still alive. Once we are gone, it will be too late.
I digress, but the truth of Psalm 119:59 warrants those few extra comments. As we are in a discussion about spiritual growth for believers, it is good to be reminded that we must be a believer before we can grow and that begins with being on the right road-the Jesus Road that leads to heaven.
So how does our verse apply to spiritual growth? A big part of spiritual maturity is realizing areas of our lives that are not under the Lordship of Christ-areas in which we need to make changes-and then change with the Lord’s help. When we consider our life and see the needed changes, we should do what the psalmist said that he did-he turned his feet toward God’s Word.
There is another choice and that is deny what we have seen in our own life and live in denial or rationalize away what we have seen. The former choice leads to spiritual growth and maturity. The latter choice results in spiritual stagnation
Why is it that we often choose to follow the example of the psalmist and turn our feet to the Lord? Could it be that we are not convinced that God’s way is always the best? We are audacious enough to think that we are smarter than the Lord so we choose our way and not his way. Or maybe we have a pet sin that we do not want to give up. Surely the Lord wouldn’t ask us to give up something that gives us so much pleasure.
If we are going to grow and mature in our relationship with the Lord, we must be willing to ask the Lord on a regular basis to reveal to us attitudes and behavior that need changing. And when he does answer and reveal these to us, we must be willing to change.
How does the Lord reveal to us attitudes and behavior that do need changing in addition to the Psalm 119:59 principle?
The primary method he uses is his Word. Perhaps you are familiar with the hand illustration in which each finger and the thumb represent five ways of getting God’s Word into our life-hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating. Some of these five ways can be done alone, but some are best done with the church.
The Holy Spirit can also convict us of wrong attitudes and behavior. Often the Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Word. He can also speak to us through others. It may be through a pastor, Sunday School teacher, family member or even a friend. By the way, it is important to surround ourselves with friends who are willing to speak truth to us. Remember this verse in Proverbs? “The kisses of an enemy may be profuse, but faithful are the wounds of a friend.”
I challenge each of us to think about the direction of our lives and then to turn our steps to the Lord.
— Series to be continued —