Now What?Sample

God is able to do more than all we could ask or imagine. That’s exciting! Yet, how he goes about doing what he does in our life is often accomplished in ways we’d never imagine. How do we recognize when God is at work in our life? Jesus emphasizes how personal our relationship with him can be when he says in John 10:27, ‘My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.’ As appealing and desirable as that is, it begs the question, ‘When following Jesus, what’s the path he leads me down?’ Imagine knowing the answer. No more wandering in confusion while claiming to have a relationship with your Creator, yet having no clue what he wants to do with your life, or how he goes about getting it done. When it comes to following Jesus, it seems he prefers taking us down the back roads, often leading us off the beaten path, down the bumpy trails where very few are going. In Matthew 7:14, Jesus says, ‘But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.’ I think the narrow gateway is Jesus referring to himself. Scripture is quite clear that the way to God is through his son, Jesus. But what about the difficult road? Maybe the life he has for us, this side of eternity, is harder to experience than we first thought. Receiving Christ as Savior, as powerful as that is, is quite easy. That’s because it’s a gift from God. But it’s the following him that’s the harder part, isn’t it? The path he leads us down can, at times, be lonely and not make sense. It’s this path where we’re more reliant on him than ever. God doesn’t have to do things our way. In effect, he often manages to accomplish great things, even immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, in unconventional ways. Consider This: Has following Jesus been different or even more difficult than you expected? If so, how?