The journey through life is often a puzzle to which only God has the solutions. Two things are certain. Both life’s circumstances and God’s solutions to them are guaranteed to be filled with surprises. You can expect the unexpected. Some of the circumstances you face will be good. Others will be not so good. In either case, God has answers that are always good. In every situation it will be just as He says it will be. Let me share one testimony of this truth with you. In 1995, I was working hard to try to establish a new church near the University of Florida. It was hard work and was progressing slowly. One day, I received an unexpected phone call telling me that Pastor Suli, the president of the Christian Mission Fellowship (CMF), was inviting me to come to Fiji to work with him to establish the CMF School of Urban Missions. It was a complete surprise and instantly shook up my world. I immediately knew it was God’s plan and a good one. In fact, it was obvious that it was the best of plans, and so I changed mine to match His. My wife, Nancy and I responded without hesitation. Before long, we were in Fiji. There, I was introduced to a piece of my life’s puzzle that I had never anticipated. Needless to say, time would demonstrate that this piece fit perfectly. God had moved suddenly and I was now looking at a whole new world of possibilities. I understood I was on the Potter’s wheel, and it was spinning into action. This taught me that, as I trust God to put the pieces of my life together His way, they will come to fit perfectly. The call to Fiji would turn out to be part of a long string of my testimonies, declaring that there are no surprises in heaven, but always so many good surprises from heaven!
Shaping your daily decisions into steps of faith, along a path of good success and significance, is often a part of life’s challenging puzzle. We all have seen what we believed were good, solid steps become our missteps. Even with the best of judgment, this happens. How can you be assured that the majority of your steps will be on solid ground and lead to something good? This is a vital question as there will be times when you find yourself totally in the dark, without a clue about what is coming next. This is especially true when your missteps have led you into trouble. It is also true when trouble comes unexpectedly, without any mistakes in judgment on your part. Both of these circumstances will happen. In many cases, you will find you have no answer for either of them. Then, there are also times when the opportunity for something good shows up. Making proper judgments that lead to solid steps of faith toward something good can also be a challenge, a puzzle.
The answer to finding assurance that the majority of your steps will be on solid ground and lead you to something good is found in God’s Word. There is no shortage of God’s wisdom available to you to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. It can be seen everywhere around you, if you will include the Holy Spirit as your Guide. Let Him direct your eyes and ears. Allow Him to show you His wisdom. Show Him your faith. If you will, you can discern the correct path for your steps to take toward victory. The prophet Habakkuk spoke of this truth. In Habakkuk 2:14a (NKJV), he said, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD…”
Let me give you this spiritual food for thought, regarding how to correctly judge the steps you should take to stay on solid ground. (Regardless of whether you are facing trouble or opportunity, this advice works equally well to see the pieces of your puzzle come together properly.) When you find yourself in the dark, without any answers, there is only one completely dependable source to whom you can turn. His name is the Helper, the Spirit of Truth. Jesus said, in John 16:13 (NIV), “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” The Holy Spirit, who is “the Spirit of Truth, will always illuminate the answer you need. Therefore, when you have no idea what to do next, set your heart toward Him. He will provide the understanding you need to proceed with confidence. Experience has taught me that it will be just as He said it will be, every time and in every way.
As you can see, the Holy Spirit will never fail you. Make Him your companion through all the journeys of your life. Give Him the highest priority in your decision-making processes. He will show you the truths of which you need to aware. He will illuminate the paths you travel. Light will flood your life. Darkness will have no choice but to flee. With the Holy Spirit as your companion and guide, you can expect the journey will be just as He says it will be.
I strongly encourage you to let absolute dependence on God find its way into your heart and mind. Give it a permanent home. Let this unwavering dependence on God be the deciding factor in all of your decisions. Do this and you will move ahead in the light of His glory, because you chose to walk a path of obedience and faith. Then, you will see His glory released as He leads and guides you to your destiny. Always remember that God never demands perfection. He just asks you to do your best and let Him take care of the rest. His faithfulness guarantees He will perform His Word over you. Demand of yourself an unfailing determination to be fruitful. Make a difference for Jesus. You will gain the opportunity to let His glory be seen by other as your fruitfulness demonstrates His faithfulness. Now, reflect on these questions.
- How diligent have you been to include the Holy Spirit in your daily walk through life?
- How responsive have you been when God called you to turn the direction of your life to match the direction of His will for you?
- What barriers to faithfulness might be found in the patterns of your life today? How do these barriers cause you to resist allowing God to fit new pieces of your life’s puzzle into place?
- What could you change to become more submissive to His will for your life?
Find a few friends in the Lord and make these questions and the thoughts of this article the focus of a discussion. It will make for a great fellowship group meeting or just a conversation around a cup of tea. More importantly, it just might change you forever into an even stronger winner and champion for Jesus. That is who you are destined to be. Never doubt, it will be just as He said it will be.