“My Way or the Highway”

You know how some people say “you’ll either do it my way, or it’s the highway”. Well with God, it’s not quite that drastic for those who are believers, but there are certainly different things that seem similar to that.

In class, we just finished a booklet called “The Lord’s Work in the Lord’s Way” by K.P. Yohannan, and that certainly was a tad convicting.

A basic summary of the booklet is, through our relationship with God, and waiting on Him for wisdom and guidance in ministry, there will be lasting fruit that follows. Doesn’t that sound great?! I sure think so, but then I looked more into it, and tried applying it to my life, and boy is that hard!

Sometimes doing things in the Lord’s way means NOT doing what I think seems like the best plan of action, things that aren’t logical to me. God will take me out of my comfort zone, and direct me to do something that I never would have thought would be beneficial to anything.

However, this can also be taken in many ways. I could go to the extreme of waiting on the Lord, but not listening when He tells me to do something. I’m not saying it’s bad to wait on the Lord, but when He tells you to do something, do it! I can easily fall into the trap of waiting longer than needed because I’m afraid of what He’s telling me to do, using the excuse that I’m trying to make sure this really is what Gods wants.

There are also times when I start off right, waiting on the Lord, and doing what He tells me to do. But somewhere down the road, I start building habits. Habits are great to have, especially like reading your Bible and praying everyday. For me, I struggle with not making those habits into just going through the motions. Going through the motions of serving others, of the various tasks I have, of going through everyday life.

Just going through the motions is like being on autopilot. The things I accomplish are all in my own work, not the Lord’s. I end up not depending on the Lord for wisdom and guidance and just complete the tasks before me because I know how to. But that leads to fruit that doesn’t last.

That being said, I need to make sure I keep a balance. It’s good to build habits, and it’s good to wait on the Lord, just like it’s good to be involved with ministry. But the most important things are my motives, and getting to know the Lord more intimately and fully. Putting this first and foremost in my life will automatically overflow into ministry. But the difference is, the ministry I’m involved with will be fruitful, beneficial, and even draw me closer to the Lord.