The Better Path
By: Kellye Smith
“Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over how God had prepared the people, for it had come about suddenly.”
2 Chronicles 29:36
There are seasons when I put my head down and get to work. Then, there are slower seasons when I regularly pause to look up and around at where I’ve been and how far I’ve travelled.
You often don’t see how far you’ve gone until you look back. In the middle it just feels like all these backwards steps with little progress, but then you realize that we can’t ever really lean hard into our perspectives of reality. We’re too emotional most of the time and our feelings will often convince us of things that aren’t true.
Looking back today, it’s abundantly clear that everything God called me to walk away from began with these tiny little nudges—a “gut feeling” that maybe it was time for certain things to end...a thought that wouldn’t escape me. I think more than anything it was the overwhelming fear of what would happen if I did walk away or lay things down. Looking back, I see that the enemy was trying really hard to keep me in one place. And seeing how well God prepared me, it’s abundantly clear how unprepared the enemy wanted me to be, because it would’ve been easy to turn my back on God when I was unprepared and everything fell apart. Our enemy lives to see us fall! He likes to tangle our identity with the stuff we do or who we’re with or what we do to earn a living. He likes to make us feel like any different version of life, even if it’s only one thing that changes, is a bad thing. He likes to take us on a roller coaster of fear, believing that anything different is bad.
You know, you don’t have to listen to God. No, really. You don’t have to. But I can tell you, it’s always better if you do. God will never lead you into a place that isn’t meant to deepen your trust and reliance on Him. He will never lead you away from something when He doesn’t have something else that’s meant to glorify Him in a greater way. He will never block the path that is ultimately leading to your sanctification through Him.
If you want to be the person who possesses rock solid faith in God, this is where it begins. Every single act of adversity, discomfort, suffering, and struggle can be used to develop the faith you’ve always wanted. And sometimes that means things have to end, or people walk away, or you go through a season of loss for the pruning.
It’s painful, you know. But the outcome is brilliant.
He will always equip you for what’s to come. He knows and His plan for your life is far greater than anything we could ever create for ourselves.
Reflection Questions
What are some areas of your life where you’ve been in rebellion against God? What has God been asking of you in order to get back into a right relationship with Him?
How has God been desiring for you to change? Take some time to meditate on His word and listen for His voice.
Change and obedience are painful and inconvenient. Are you willing to undergo them to pursue whatever the Lord requires of you?