Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Winkie Pratney
Devotional: 3 Signs You Need More of God’s Direction in Your Life
God is, above all else, respectful of your power of choice. While He would love nothing more than for you to choose His plan for your life, He respects your decisions and won’t push Himself on you. As the book of Revelation shows, God stands at the door of our hearts knocking.
Jesus asks to come in. He doesn’t simply break the door down. Here are just three of the many signs it might be a good idea to start listening to the knocking and open the door of your heart to Jesus. These signs point to the need for Jesus’ transforming and healing love.
Sign #1: You know the price of things but never their value
It is too easy to live our lives guided by the value placed by society on the stuff we buy, the things we do, and the activities we engage in. We get blinded by the cost of these, as set by others and we neglect the true value of things. Oftentimes, things, activities, and experiences that don’t cost much are actually more important and meaningful. Money can’t buy a great sunset or a sense of relief as you relax and peer into the horizon at the end of the day.
Opening our hearts to Jesus revitalizes our ability to focus on value outside of costs, price tags, or social stature. Jesus liberates us from the covetousness that numbs our ability to detect real value.
Sign #2: You view people simply as means to an end
Whether you are trying to move up the corporate ladder or trying to move up your church’s leadership hierarchy, we can fall for the temptation of using people as stepping stones. It can be easy to see ourselves developing friendships motivated mainly by the idea of the new ‘friend’ opening doors for us. When you let the question of ‘what’s in it for me?’ be your guiding force in life, you can find yourself lost, surrounded by friends of convenience, and wearing a mask for uncomfortably long periods of time. You begin to value your relationships based primarily on their ‘usefulness.’
Humbling yourself enough to allow God’s direction and wisdom to guide your life can help you rediscover the intrinsic value of friends. The best friends are those who can’t do anything for us. They have no influence. They are neither rich nor powerful. Still, they enrich your life on many levels by reflecting God’s power in their lives. True friends pull each other up in their own separate walks with Christ.
Sign #3: Whenever you get what you want, it’s never as satisfying as you imagined it to be
By focusing on the world’s rewards, we fall into the snare of assuming that we’ll be ‘happy’ once we get to a certain destination or buy certain things. When we finally get to where we want to go or get the stuff we’ve been working for, we feel satisfied, but only for a short period of time. We then fix our eyes to ‘the next big thing’ and the same cycle plays out. It never ends. You’re still less than satisfied and you can’t have enough.
Surrendering your will to God’s direction for your life upends this unsatisfying pattern. By abiding in Him, you get fulfilment, peace, and a sense of completion. You are always where you need to be. You can’t say that with the next promotion, the next shining bauble, or notch on the social totem pole, can you?
Closing thoughts
If you show any of the signs of dissatisfaction or subscribe to any of the misconceptions above, asking Jesus to enter your life today is the best thing you can do. Instead of continuing to feel lost, frustrated, and unfulfilled, let Him fill you with eternal water that won’t leave you thirsting ever again.
