Follow the Directions

Have you ever started something or tried to build something without looking at the directions first? I know I have. When I don’t look at the directions, things rarely turn out exactly the way they were designed. For instance, I recently had a cold or sinuses (not COVID, thankfully), and I took some medicine for it to help my stuffy nose. Well, I didn’t take the appropriate dose and I paid for it with a longer time with symptoms. 

Had I just read the directions and followed them in the first place I would have recovered sooner. Who do I have to blame? No one but myself. Could I have blamed the meds? Sure, but it would have been a false accusation. How often do we blame God or someone else for things that happen in our lives, when in fact, we have not followed the directions? 

God gives us guidance for how to live our lives in a way that He will be glorified. Have you read the directions? If we want God to move in our lives, we have to do what He says. To know what He says, we have to spend time in His word (Duet 17:19, Josh 1:8)). God wants to bless us in ways we can’t even imagine, but we block Him by our disobedience. 

He wants us to know Him, but we have to spend time with Him in order to do so. One way to spend time with Him is to read what He tells us to do. There is much guidance in the bible that will keep us out of “bad” trouble. I define it that way, because we are strangers in this world and just visiting for a season. Trials and tribulations will come, but even then, they come to make us stronger in Christ (Jam 1:2-4). 

As we read the directions in our Bibles, we learn what to expect and see the trials and tribulations for what they are. They may still be difficult, but we understand their purpose and we realize that we are not alone (John 16:33). The Holy Spirit is a keeper and a comforter and He will take care of us through the trials and tribulations when we let him (John 14:26). When we are Christ-followers, we can know we can leave our heavy burdens with Him and He will give us res (Matt 11:28-29). 

Faith is our path to Christ and that is what will give us peace in the middle of the storm or whatever the issue we face (Eph 2:8-9). Anyone who is not in relationship with Christ misses out on the benefits of being God’s child. God loves you and wants to save you, but the only way to the Father is through the Son (John 14:6). I pray that anyone who is not in relationship with Christ would read Romans 10:9-10. Confess the need for Christ as Lord of your life and believe God raised Him from the dead are the directions to salvation – this does not ignore the cross, but encompasses the complete work Jesus fulfilled on the cross.  It’s that simple, but it is required. Are you following the directions to have a Christ-filled life? I certainly hope so. If not, now is the time.