The Path of Life...

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11 The path of life is a most interesting thing. I was recently reminded that God is in control of our lives & He directs the path we take. Truly we have free will & God allows us to make choices via that free will that impact our lives & the lives of others along the way. However, He uses even our bad decisions to bring about good. Coincidence doesn't really exist. God has a plan & a purpose for everything & He allows us to cross paths with people for a reason. Sometimes, we don't see the reasons behind things until years later. That young preacher you're praying for today might be the one to lead one of your loved ones to Christ in years to come. That struggling young couple in church might one day teach your children & grandchildren in Sunday School or minister to them when they encounter struggles in life. The junkie in rehab that's on the church prayer list might be the next great evangelist to proclaim God to the world. We don't have the ability to see the future, but God sees the entire path of life that lies ahead of us. I'm sure Mordecai Ham had no idea he was leading a great evangelist to the Lord when he preached a series of revival messages heard by a teenager named Billy Graham. He was simply following God's Call & the leading of the Holy Spirit. Yet, God used that encounter to bring a young man to Himself who would become known as one the world's greatest evangelists, a man who would minister to millions, including US Presidents & assorted world leaders. And, it all began with a seemingly chance meeting in Charlotte, NC. It was all part of a greater plan. In my younger years, I taught Sunday School to teenagers & worked with youth groups. There were fun times & there were difficult times in it. I'm blessed to have lived long enough to see some of those young people pursue ministry so I know my efforts were not in vain, although I questioned my own sanity at times through the process. I now work with the ministry of Alabama Teen Challenge--talk about a challenge! Teen Challenge is a ministry to people recovering from addiction issues. It is real, it is raw & it sometimes tests every ounce of your being. But, God uses that ministry to bring about change in people's lives & impacts many families. I've seen men at their worst & I've seen them at their best. I've watched men succeed & I've watched men fail. It is gutwrenchingly heartbreaking at times and completely and wonderfully fulfilling at others--a complete & total paradox of emotions. I've been blessed to watch as God put the broken pieces of lives once devastated by drugs & alcohol back together and birth ministries through them. While I've questioned the path God has for me & I've not understood at the time they occurred, the events of my life (both the God-ordained & the self-inflicted, the good--the bad--the ugly) have prepared me to minister to others when they were walking a difficult path themselves (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). Only God can take a life riddled with sin and make something of it. I ran from Him, I wrestled with Him, I tried my best to renegotiate the call I knew He had on my life, I resisted in every possible way, I opened many doors in my life that never should have been though poor decisions & my own free will--which is both a blessing and a curse, but God took all of that mess & turned it into a message of hope. You see, each life touches so many others along the way & as we walk the path, the journey of our life, and you never know who you may be having an impact on. Your testimony might be exactly what someone needs to hear to help them see that they are not outside the reach & realm of God's grace and mercy. You could be ministering to the next Billy Graham and be completely unaware of it. You matter! You make a difference! You are important in God's eyes & you have value in The kingdom! Never doubt the path God has for you. He has a plan for everything He allows to touch our lives. Remember the word of the psalmist, "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path." Psalm 119:105 Trust Him and obey Him as you walk the path of life... Blessings! Tony