WHICH PATH WILL YOU FOLLOW?

Have you ever asked yourself why you do things the way you do? Why do you hold the beliefs you do? Have you ever wondered what you are copying and why you are copying them? If God asks you to do something, which path will you follow? It might seem cliche, but some beliefs are man made and not what God says. And while some are good and morally upright, others simply hold us back from becoming who God has called us to be.

As Christians, we should focus on what God tells us more than what culture, our past, and our background tell us. This is because sometimes God will take us down unfamiliar paths and, if not careful, the voice hindering our growth will be that of the culture and our background. You know often God will challenge our beliefs because He wants to take us to unchartered territories. And just because something has not been done before does not mean that it is not from God. God will never contradict His word or character. At the same time, He is always doing a new thing. And often the new thing disrupts our culture and our tradition. God does not want us to follow the status quo. He wants us to go on an adventure with Him to bring heaven to earth.

Have you ever wondered where the inherited beliefs came from? Who came up with some concepts and why? Were the instruction specific to them or do they apply to you too? When copying someone, do you know the full picture? God is diverse and He will all give us unique instructions specific to us. He might ask one person to fast for 3 days to get the answer to their prayer and for another, He might just ask them to praise. Imagine if then you decide to follow the person who was asked to fast and yet you were meant to praise?

Let me give you a biblical example:

1 Samuel 17: David and Goliath.

³² David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” ³³ Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷ The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

³⁸ Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. ³⁹ David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. ⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

⁴¹ Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. ⁴² He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. ⁴³ He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”

⁴⁵ David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

⁴⁸ As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. ⁴⁹ Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. ⁵⁰ So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. ⁵¹ David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.

When David went to fight Goliath, all he knew was to use a sling and stones. However, as he was getting ready to take down Goliath, King Saul suggested he take his armor for protection and defense purposes. When David tried to walk, he realized he could not. This was because the armor was not meant for him and was not tailored to his fitting. David resolved to take off the armor and instead use what was familiar to him. Although peculiar, God used the stones to grant David and the Israelites victory over Palestine. Imagine if David had insisted on using the armor because that was how things were done. Do you think he would have defeated Goliath?

Often we take on other people’s instructions and pass them on as ours, too. Just because something worked for someone else does not mean it will work for us. And just because culture says that is the right way to do things does not mean that it is the only way. An example of this would be when Moses needed to get water from a rock for the Israelites to drink, the first time God asked him to strike the rock once but the second time God asked him to speak to the rock but because he focused on what was familiar, he gave up the promise.

How can you posture yourself to receive the promise?

Focus on what God is saying and not what others are saying.

What has God told you to do? Maybe it does not look familiar because no one in your family has ever done it. But if God is calling you to do it, go ahead and do it. Stop being loyal to your culture and learn to embrace the unfamiliar paths that God is taking you to. How do you even know what God is saying? Can you discern when God is speaking and do you know His voice? One way to hear God’s voice is to read His word. This will enable you to know when He is speaking because it will align with His character and His word. Although God’s ways are diverse, His character stays the same, and He never contradicts Himself.

For you to discern what God is saying, you must have a relationship with Him. Focus on what God is saying to you. Realize that what has worked for others might not work for you too. Ask God what He wants you to do and do not blindly follow what everyone else is doing. Don’t be so focused on what others expect you to do that you end up missing out on what God has called you to be. When God calls you, which path will you follow?

If God is asking you today, which path will you follow? He wants you to stop being loyal to your past.

Whether it is your background or simply what God instructed you to do in the past. You need to realize that there comes a time when God wants to take you down a new, unfamiliar path. And this new path will require you to let go of some of your beliefs and way of doing things. Some instructions God gives you will benefit you in some seasons, but not in all.

When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they never had to till the land or build permanent homes because they knew they were in a transitional season. However, when they got to Cannan, they had to go look for food, dwell in homes, and even plant vineyards. They had to shift their way of doing things to accommodate the season they were in. Sometimes the assignments you have now, you will not take in your next season. And also the purpose shift according to the season.

What instructions do you need to let go of that do not benefit your future? Maybe in the seasons prior, God told you to isolate yourself because you were in a wilderness season. Now that God is taking you to a new season, you will need to build relationships. The relationships will help you thrive in the promised land because God created you for relationships. God is the one who created seasons and you need to realize that you will act differently depending on the season you are in. When God calls you out of your past and into the new, which path will you follow?

Be flexible.

Will you say yes when God wants to take you through unchartered territories? God might ask you to follow a path that others have not followed. Maybe God is asking you to get into politics or the entertainment sector. With the evil going on there, you could feel the need to say no. But beloved, I want you to know that when God is calling you to something; He has already equipped you for it. God will never ask you to do something unless He knows you are ready for it and you can handle it. So today I want to encourage you to follow the path that God is leading you to. Listen to His voice and lead, and don’t allow culture to dictate your destiny.

God has new inventions that He wants to deposit into your life and reveal to the world. Will you follow Him? Will you say yes when He asks you to do something? God’s instructions will often look and feel ridiculous and at times even crazy. But, when you follow what He is telling you, you can be sure that He will get you on that path of fulfillment and hope. God has your best interests at heart. God is beckoning. Which path will you follow? Will you stay loyal to your past? Or will you be flexible enough to allow Him to lead you where He wants you to go?

Conclusion.

There will always be voices that will try to contradict God’s voices. Sometimes what is familiar will clash with the new. But if the new is what God wants you to do, do not get stuck in the past or stay loyal to it. Learn to be flexible and open such that you can let go of what does not serve your future. God has beautiful destinations with your name on it. Say yes to Him. He has your best interest at heart. God is doing a new thing. Get on with it! Maybe today you need to make the commitment that when God calls you, you will answer because you want to partner with Him.

Moses, David, Joshua, Gideon, Jesus, Esther, Deborah, and Paul all followed God’s path, even when it was uncomfortable. What about you? Will you? Which path will you follow?