Who's Going My Way?

“For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’ But you were unwilling,” Isaiah 30:15

I like doing things my own way.  Sometimes that is good, but most of the time if I had just followed the counsel of others or the directions on the box, things would have turned out so much better.  Many times, I hear God’s voice speak to my heart, “Lisa.  We can do this my way or your way.  The outcome is going to be the same, because my will is still going to be accomplished regardless.  So what's it going to be?”  There is implication in this conversation with Father that my way is just going to make things harder, drag things out longer, and more pain than necessary may be involved.  In spite of all the warnings, I still have a tendency to go my way.  Just like Israel, I am unwilling. How about you?

Israel, after being set free and in process of being led to the Promise Land, decided they wanted to do things their way.  What did that look like? They made plans to go back to slavery and bondage because the way God was leading them seemed scary, painful, and they were sure they were going to die.  I feel like God was saying to them, “Listen up.  We can do this my way which leads to life and promise or your way which will certainly lead to slavery and death.  What are you going to choose?’ He lovingly reassures them in Isaiah 30:15, by saying (my paraphrase), “Forget about your plans and rest in mine.  That is what is going to save you.  Depend on me and my power and goodness.  Quiet your fears and scary thoughts and keep peace in your minds.  You can have confidence that I will do what is best for you.  And when you do this, it will give you strength.  You will not be shaken.” Wow. Seems like a no-brainer, right? 

Now Israel, did decide to trust in God’s plan and continue on, but throughout the whole journey it was a forty-year battle of the wills that sometimes reminds me of my own journey with the Lord.  

So, whose way are you going to choose?  Yours, where you return to pain and misery because that seems safer than an unknown path? Yours, where you stubbornly stay where you are, refusing to move forward, because you are sure where you are at is safer than the other option? Yours, where you are certain there is a short-cut to the promised land which, in reality, may end up taking you an allegorical forty-years? Or God’s way which will be perfect no matter what the road looks like?  

I am so thankful we have a God that when we choose to linger in the desert longer than necessary because of our stubbornness and self-reliance, He walks it with us.

Choosing His way today, 

Lisa Ruffenach