Today we have another guess writer, Alex Molloy a friend of mine. Alex is the Service Pastor of Story Philly in Center City Philadelphia. He is an amazing person and has a heart for Jesus and I am beyond excited to share that with you today. Enjoy!
Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.
These are the words of 35th president JFK
As I look back on my life, my path has led me to a series of wonderful places; starting in London, with stops in Paris, Beijing and Sydney along the way, my path has wound itself to the east coast of America, namely Philadelphia. I’ve experienced hot weather and cold weather, great hospitality and great hostility along the way, but one thing is for certain. If you asked me where I’d be in 10 years as a 16 year old in school, Philadelphia probably wouldn’t have been on my radar. Being the service pastor of Story Philly, a center city church certainly wouldn’t have.
The truth is the destination I often found myself at when I was living a life away from my family and more importantly ignoring the call of God upon my life was always riddled with turmoil and discontent. The reason for this? My direction was way off. Any great pioneer arms him or herself with a compass, and mine wasn’t working, and when it did, I chose to ignore it. Because of that, I found myself on the wrong path.
You see, whatever road you’re on determines where you end up, the path taken determines the destination. If I planned on driving to L.A., route 40 may be a good start, I-95N wouldn’t as I’d end up in Canada before long. Canada is a lot colder than California. Living life on the wrong path can result in destination a lot colder and more barren than intended and expected (no shade to Canada, it’s a beautiful place). You see, it’s not about intentions and expectations but rather direction.
Intentionality often seems great and noble. God however, isn’t interested in those with good intentions but those who display good actions and embody just characteristics. Too often it can be said about this generation that we’re slow to move, capable of recognizing the need, but end up doing nothing. Don’t be a we-really-ought-to-do-it-but-do-nothing kind of person. Because as Pastor Andy Stanley puts it, direction, not intention, determines destination. It’s the steps of the righteous that God orders and delights in, not the intentions.
Aha, so we need to be taking steps. And in front of me seems like a million and one different paths I could take. What should my next step be? There’s a little saying I’m beginning to live by; DO THE NEXT RIGHT THING.
Doing the next right thing can seem very difficult with a lack of information which we all have. It’s important to know that decisions made today have ramification later on. The path you take now in your 20s impacts your 30s. We can never know all the possible outcomes each path we choose to live will have. In order to do the next right thing, it’s not about trying to predict the future.
Proverbs 3:5
In every arena of life, trust in God, lean hard into Him, lean not into your own understanding
When it comes to the choice of our life paths I make the common mistake to think I’m wise enough to be able to lean on my own understanding. What God tells us to do is the complete opposite of this. There is no need to try to predict and decipher every possible outcome to any possible decision. All we need to do is trust in God and allow him to lead us. How do we do this? The next line of the proverb shows us:
Proverbs 3:6
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
When we live our lives submitting every single compartment of our hearts, our minds and our decisions to God and Heaven’s story, He will make your paths straight. It’s as simple as that (note I said simple not easy!). In order to commit to the God direction for your life, you must first submit. Submit to commit! Living a life where submission precedes direction results in God making all your paths straight.
There are so many things we entrust God with essentially because we have no choice or control in the matter such as eternity or our health. However, what God wants is that same trust and faith with what we do have control over; our relationships, our jobs, our finances and what we do with our time. Evaluate a relationship, a job or any decision on where it’s heading, not where it is.
One of the most important characteristics of a leader is one who knows what direction they’re heading and are relentless in their pursuit forward. Submit to commit, live with a God component in every single compartment of my life and be faithful with what is in your hand.
These are the words of 35th president JFK
As I look back on my life, my path has led me to a series of wonderful places; starting in London, with stops in Paris, Beijing and Sydney along the way, my path has wound itself to the east coast of America, namely Philadelphia. I’ve experienced hot weather and cold weather, great hospitality and great hostility along the way, but one thing is for certain. If you asked me where I’d be in 10 years as a 16 year old in school, Philadelphia probably wouldn’t have been on my radar. Being the service pastor of Story Philly, a center city church certainly wouldn’t have.
The truth is the destination I often found myself at when I was living a life away from my family and more importantly ignoring the call of God upon my life was always riddled with turmoil and discontent. The reason for this? My direction was way off. Any great pioneer arms him or herself with a compass, and mine wasn’t working, and when it did, I chose to ignore it. Because of that, I found myself on the wrong path.
You see, whatever road you’re on determines where you end up, the path taken determines the destination. If I planned on driving to L.A., route 40 may be a good start, I-95N wouldn’t as I’d end up in Canada before long. Canada is a lot colder than California. Living life on the wrong path can result in destination a lot colder and more barren than intended and expected (no shade to Canada, it’s a beautiful place). You see, it’s not about intentions and expectations but rather direction.
Intentionality often seems great and noble. God however, isn’t interested in those with good intentions but those who display good actions and embody just characteristics. Too often it can be said about this generation that we’re slow to move, capable of recognizing the need, but end up doing nothing. Don’t be a we-really-ought-to-do-it-but-do-nothing kind of person. Because as Pastor Andy Stanley puts it, direction, not intention, determines destination. It’s the steps of the righteous that God orders and delights in, not the intentions.
Aha, so we need to be taking steps. And in front of me seems like a million and one different paths I could take. What should my next step be? There’s a little saying I’m beginning to live by; DO THE NEXT RIGHT THING.
Doing the next right thing can seem very difficult with a lack of information which we all have. It’s important to know that decisions made today have ramification later on. The path you take now in your 20s impacts your 30s. We can never know all the possible outcomes each path we choose to live will have. In order to do the next right thing, it’s not about trying to predict the future.
Proverbs 3:5
In every arena of life, trust in God, lean hard into Him, lean not into your own understanding
When it comes to the choice of our life paths I make the common mistake to think I’m wise enough to be able to lean on my own understanding. What God tells us to do is the complete opposite of this. There is no need to try to predict and decipher every possible outcome to any possible decision. All we need to do is trust in God and allow him to lead us. How do we do this? The next line of the proverb shows us:
Proverbs 3:6
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
When we live our lives submitting every single compartment of our hearts, our minds and our decisions to God and Heaven’s story, He will make your paths straight. It’s as simple as that (note I said simple not easy!). In order to commit to the God direction for your life, you must first submit. Submit to commit! Living a life where submission precedes direction results in God making all your paths straight.
There are so many things we entrust God with essentially because we have no choice or control in the matter such as eternity or our health. However, what God wants is that same trust and faith with what we do have control over; our relationships, our jobs, our finances and what we do with our time. Evaluate a relationship, a job or any decision on where it’s heading, not where it is.
One of the most important characteristics of a leader is one who knows what direction they’re heading and are relentless in their pursuit forward. Submit to commit, live with a God component in every single compartment of my life and be faithful with what is in your hand.
Reflection/ Prayer Time
As you pray ask yourself if you on the “God path”? Talk to God about what it means to be in His will and going in the direction that He is pointing. As you pray, ask God for direction and seek that direction knowing that He is pointing you the right way. Even when it looks a little gloomy, He’s pointing you in the right direction, have faith and move according to His will.
I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Make sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 85!
