The Path

Because we belong to Christ, we have powerful spiritual resources available to us. Hebrews 13 says:
20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

We can count on God to do His work in us and to bring us into a position in which we not only know His will, but we can be empowered to follow that will.  It's done through a reliance on the Holy Spirit to show us how to walk, based on our study of God's Word.  But, in order to know the will of God for our lives individually, we need to be in the Word of God, which communicates to us powerful truth that we can apply in our daily walk.

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We have access to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, on Whom we can depend to direct our paths and to help us to discern and to walk in His ways. Isaiah 30 says:
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.

Maybe you or your kids watched the reboot of the classic Mickey Mouse Club - it was called The New Mickey Mouse Club, and some of the stars of that show have gone on to be fairly well-known, to say the least.  As a recent piece at The Stream highlights:

Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera became superstar singers. Keri Russell and Ryan Gosling emerged as well-known actors. Jennifer McGill, however, wasn’t a star.

She had been a student at New York University, but after graduation, jobs weren't exactly opening up for her.  According to the article, she said: “I was frazzled. Overworking and over-comparing.” Through it all, she had the support of her mother; but then things changed - her mom died and Jennifer's life went into a downward spiral.  She isolated herself.  She became involved in a bad relationship at age 30.

The Stream article relates that Jennifer recognized some things about herself:

“I had taken so much of my life into my own hands. I’d narrowed myself, put myself into a spiritual cage. I felt lost and alone.” But then she realized: “He had never left me.” God was waiting, gently, for her to return. And by His grace, she did.

From then on, she never wanted to make a decision without God. “I went back to where I’d begun,” she explained. “God upgraded me to a more intimate relationship with Him.” She started to rethink her decisions with “God as the filter.”

God brought the right people into McGill’s life. Right away she moved to Orlando and began working at The Holy Land Experience. She was “immersed” in a wonderful cast. “They taught me how to be active in my faith. We prayed. There was lots of prayer. They were spiritual warriors.” She began living a real relationship with God. “I was given back all the things I’d let go to re-tether to God. I went straight to the Source.”

She has been involved in a live show called Freedom Fighters, and has a new album coming out on August 11 called Unbreakable.

This story can really teach us some principles about our walk with God.  The first thing that stands out is that comparison is a dangerous and destructive activity.  You could definitely see how the now-superstars that Jennifer worked with on the Disney show could be the objects of envy or jealousy.  And, it appears that Jennifer was someone who was prone to compare - "over-comparing," as the quote says.  As believers, we have to find our own path and walk in it.  His road may not involve fame and fortune - some people will be high-profile, others will be behind the scenes.

We just have to be comfortable where God has called us, and if we aren't confident that we are in the center of His will, then we have to take the necessary steps to get there and encounter His peace. Some of those steps include: a recognition that we are not there, perhaps repenting of actions that are not pleasing to Him, a rediscovery of God's love and presence through prayer and devotion to the Word, and a reliance on Him as we renew our devotion to Him each day.  We can become willing to lay aside our own ambition so that God's plans might be expressed in and through us.