What Do You Think

An old saying states, "If you always do what you think is right without seeking guidance, you will never reach your goal. Simply stated, are you tired of taking another trip around the same old mountain?

If your answer is yes, then my suggestion to you is to change your attitude. Many people will fail to reach the next level because of their refusal to hear sound advice. Instead, they have adopted the "My way" attitude. A church leader cannot lead his congregation like he does his home. Leaders must consider the needs of the people when important decisions are to be made. Like Christ, we must seek the Father’s guidance because of the many different ideals that exist among the brethren.

In order to succeed in these times, we must ask God for a strategy. Since He created man and knows the thoughts and intents of the heart, we must seek him for an answer to our many perplexing problems. The scripture declares, "Your thoughts are not my thoughts, neither are your ways my ways."(Isaiah 55:8).

Many times we think that God only uses the educated, wise, and mighty, but God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called. If we think ourselves to be something when we are nothing, we deceive ourselves. God called Abraham, an old man, and made him the "Father of many nations" Why? Because God calls the simple, humble, the faithful ones.

Remember David, the shepherd boy? Twirling on a mountainside and ignorant of the palace life. Yet God made him the King of Israel. Why?? Because David knew the heart of God. He sought the Lord daily. David knew the attributes of his Father; "The Lord is my shepherd, he prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies."

What we think has nothing to do with God’s plan for us. While we are overwhelmed by worldly issues, the state of the economy, the lack of the necessities of life, the psalmist still declares, "The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof."(Psalm 24:1)

The Lord takes pleasure in the prosperity of His people, but prosperity comes with an enormous price. In order to live godly, that is, to follow God, we must suffer for righteousness sake. We must accept God’s plan for our life regardless of what others think. We cannot allow ourselves to be persuaded by the ideas of man.

The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few. Accepting God may mean losing your closest friends. Jesus declared, "If they are not for me, they are against me." As children of God, we must adopt that same principle. We must not allow things present nor things to come to separate us from the love of God.

During Christ’s ministry, He went about "healing all who were sick and doing the will of his Father." He denounced the religious prognostics, and fulfilled many of the outdated teachings of the Pharisees. The cost was enormous. He sacrificed His life on the tree.

If we are to succeed as he did, then we must leave our comfort zones, denounce false doctrines and false teachers, and teach the word of God with conviction. Will it cost us as well? Tell me, "What do you think?