How do I know what I should do? It’s a common question I hear, often voiced by young people trying to determine career paths. There are just so many options.
We often ask, what is available? Am I qualified to do it? Will I enjoy it? Will I find it fulfilling?
Just like the number of jobs we could pursue, there are many, many ways of life. We each get to choose how we live. Not making a choice is making a choice.
Just like choosing a profession, choosing a way of life is complicated. And our enemy likes to make it seem daunting, encouraging us to believe lies, like we just aren’t good enough to choose a life in pursuit of God. He tells us that life isn’t available for people like me. I am not qualified because of what I’ve done, or what I think or where I came from. He whispers that there is no fun in that, and that I will never be able to sustain that lifestyle.
But he’s wrong.
Dead wrong.
And it’s our souls he threatens to steal, kill and ultimately destroy.
The psalmist had it right when he said, “You (God) make known to me the path of life; You (God) will fill me with Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.” (Psalm 16:11, NIV).
The psalmist had tasted and seen for himself that God is good. He knew that there is a burning desire in himself and in you and me that yearns for a life knowing and serving God. That if we don’t pursue it, we will never be satisfied.
Will we get it right all the time? No.
Will we always find it easy? No.
Will we find it fulfilling? Yes.
I firmly believe when we come to the end of this life, and we look back evaluating our years on this earth, yes, we will be glad we sought after God, tried our best to know Him and be obedient to Him. I have worked with cardiac patients just hours after surviving a heart attack and they realize just how fleeting this life is. More than one patient has gripped my arm, telling me some version of, “Money is not the important thing. Relationships are. Spend time with those you love. Find God and know Him.”
How about you? Have you found His joy? The joy that you don’t have to be anything,
Do anything,
Achieve anything,
In order to be fully known and loved by God?
We each will find joy when we pursue Him alone.
He calls each of us into relationship with Him. He wants us to spend time with Him and get to know Him. He will help us as we navigate this life, both in pursuit of Him, and in the practical details for living life. James 4:8 tells us to “Draw closer to Him and He will draw closer to You.”
Let’s ask Him for help with just that.
Prayer: Dear Lord, You know what You created me for: to know, pursue and serve You. That requires a heart dedicated to You. Please draw closer to me as I seek you. Help me find joy not in the temporary things of this world, but in the eternal companionship of You. Help me realize You love me because I am Your creation. I can do nothing to earn that love. Thank You that Your grace covers it all. In Jesus’ name, Amen.