“In essence, Jesus says, ‘Continue steadily on with what I have told you to do, and I will guard your life. If you try to guard it yourself, you remove yourself from My deliverance.” Even the most devout among us become atheistic in this regard — we do not believe Him. We put our common sense on the throne and then attach God’s name to it.” – Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

I have been guilty of this. I have, in my planning sessions, looked at the options for my future and weighed them in terms of their monetary and temporal advantages. I have chosen the easiest, cheapest, most convenient, or most expedient courses, and then called that my destined path, the will of God. But it should not be so.

I have failed, in this process of planning, to first listen to the Lord, and then act on what He says. Rather, I have forged ahead without leaning upon His guidance, and then asked Him to bless what I come up with on my own. And I admit, I often omit His guidance out of fear: fear that He will tell me to put aside my plans, put aside my ties to worldly things, drop my possessions and relationships, and walk a narrow, narrow path of suffering and sacrifice for Him.

Lord, teach me to follow You wholeheartedly, to walk Your steps and not my own. Only by following Your path will I find true, lasting joy.