“It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect” (2 Samuel 22:33 NIV).
Have you noticed that the harder you strive for perfection the more elusive it becomes? Focus on having the perfect vacation, the perfect house, the perfect kids, the perfect spouse… and the more imperfect everything seems!
It seems counter-intuitive, but when I stop focusing on achieving perfection and focus on pleasing God, life seems more… well, perfect.
My plans for life don’t include all the backroads and pitstops. I prefer taking the Interstate and getting to the destination quickly. I don’t even like taking bathroom breaks (Although, since I’ve entered my 5th decade this is changing somewhat).
But God likes going off-road. He leads us into desert places and surprises us with an oasis. He lets us break down in the wilderness and sends an old farmer in a pickup to give us a ride into town. God’s ways are different than ours. His ways of perfecting us are not what we expect. They don’t seem so perfect at the time. But later, after you’ve been on His route for while, you get it.
I’ve tried both ways now. I’ve tried living my way, focused on a destination called perfection and feeling the disappointment of constantly falling short. Now, I’m learning to live life trusting God. I believe that His ways are “higher” (Isaiah 55:9) and better than my ways.
God’s way is perfect. When I focus on following Him, He makes my way perfect too.
Amen!
God will make a way when there seems to be no way…and HIS way is perfect, hallelujah!!!
In preparation for my flat track motorcycling ministry, “Right Track Ministries”, I’ve been racing an xr100 Honda with some old friends at a local track. I’ve been working on the setup over the last few weeks; gearing, carb and exhaust mods, air pressure, etc.; trying to get the “perfect” combination since I’ve been getting outrun on a regular basis. Finally, I asked one of the older guys, “How do you run with those younger boys so good?” He replied, “Stop using the brakes”. Last week I led 10 laps. Trust in your gifts and stop “putting the brakes” on God.