Christian Living

HE MUST

by paul hoffmaster
03/11/18
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The Bible states that “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.” (Psalms 37:23)  Simply put, God has a plan for each one of us and will direct our lives on our spiritual journey.  Every Believer has a road to travel and the Bible is the guide book to that destination.  I think many look at God’s plan as something that will be achieved down the road.  What we fail to see is that the path God wants us to follow is a daily “ordering” of our activities.  We become so future oriented that we fail to see the here and now.  God wants to lead us every step of the way, but due to our freedom of choice, we many times choose to chart our own course. 

 The success of Jesus’ earthly ministry was His continual desire to follow God’s leading.  There were countless times that He sought places of solitude where He would pray and seek God’s direction for His life.  Jesus did not act according to the permissive will of God, but through God’s directive will.  Many times you hear of Jesus acknowledging God’s leading.  One day, He went into the desert to seek out God’s will.  While He was praying, people sought Him out and urged Him to stay longer with them.  Jesus simply told them that He “…must preach the Kingdom to other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” (Luke 4:43)  On the outskirts of Jericho, He saw a man named Zacchaeus who had climbed up a tree so he could see Jesus better.  Jesus told him to come down, “…for today I must stay at your house.” (Luke 19:5)  The Bible states that on His way to Galilee He must go through Samaria. (John 4:4) There Jesus would lead a Samaritan woman into a life changing experience.  Another time, Jesus shared with His disciples that He “…must work the works of Him that sent Me.” (John 9:4)  Jesus knew what lay before Him for God had revealed it to Him many times.  He would share with His disciples how He “…must suffer many things…” (Luke 9:22, 17:25, et al) 

 Some Christians believe that Jesus could not fail or falter because He was the Son of God.   True, He was Divine, but He was also human.  He faced every type of situation that life presented, yet without sin.  The secret to Jesus’ earthly life was not His divinity, but His obedience to the will of His Father.  He not only sought God’s leading, but He followed it!!!  Two times, God spoke audibly to those around Jesus: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17, 17:5)  There were times that Jesus struggled, yet He knew what the outcome would be because of His obedience.  It is a mistake to believe that being a Christian guarantees that life will be void of difficulties, trials, and testing.  But there is an assurance that if we follow God’s leading we will find our ways through the difficulties, trials, and testing. 

 Reaching the age of reflection, I have seen that many of the mistakes I have made have been a result of planning my days around my desires instead of around the desires of God.  There are many mornings that my wife and I would ask each other, “What do you want to do today?”  Many of our responses were based on fleshly desires and interests.  When are Christians going to get to the point of asking God what He wants them to do on that untouched day? 

 Jesus was so tuned into God that His actions were not selective, but directional with a sense of urgency. “I MUST!”  Satan could not defeat Him.  People could not discourage Him.  Challenges could not deter Him.  Jesus knew the way back to His Father was through God’s directional path.  Jesus came as the Son of Man and became the Lamb of God and left as the Son of God.