“And that has made all the difference.”
“Ah Lord GOD!
(The Book of Jeremiah 32:17 NASB)
Behold,
You have made the heavens and the earth
by Your great power
and by Your outstretched arm!
Nothing is too difficult for You,”
Do we believe this verse?
Do we live as we trust God?
Do we obey God, showing the world we are His?
Do we serve others, knowing that whatever He calls us to, He will equip us to do?
Do we—the Christ-followers—believe “Nothing is too difficult for You”—for Almighty God?
Do we really act as if we do?
Many years ago (1915), the poet Robert Frost published his now-famous poem “The Road Not Taken.” If you read the poem aloud (as we always should read poetry), the sense of ‘breathing’ can be found because of the rhythmic pattern denoted in the words and lines.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Living from one breath to the next.
Four stanzas. Four seasons. A full year.
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;” (Frost 1915)
God is all-powerful.
- Each male (and female) is born with an innate desire to know God intimately.
- Each person is given a choice to the question: What will I do with God?
Truly, the roads diverge, as the human being, the traveler, stands at the crossroads of life.
He looks one way; he looks the other direction, peering as far in the future as humanly possible.
- Down one road, the traveler would traverse toward paradise in heaven, eternity with God.
- Down the other road, the traveler would travel toward the fiery pain and suffering in hell.
“Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,” (Frost 1915)
God is all-knowing.
Following God’s will causes us to often move away from what we know, from what we are most comfortable in doing to a new place, to a new land, to a new career, to a new assignment.
We can take the easy road.
We can remain where we are standing, going toward what seems ‘most safe,’ selecting what seems to be the ‘easiest & most-convenient’ path to follow.
—OR—
We can follow God’s will.
Yes, We can take the road less traveled, going where the Lord leads, doing whatever He calls us to do, even when the task seems most-arduous & even when we do not have all the details of the plan shown.
—OR—
We can remain where we stand, walking in fear.
On that road, we will walk down the road most traveled, following the masses.
—OR—
We can ‘as citizens of heaven’ step forward in FAITH walking the path, the road, God has already prepared for us to walk.
“And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.” (Frost 1915)
God is all-loving.
- Oftentimes, following God’s will for you requires that you move away from a town you love.
- Sometimes, following God’s will for you demands that you move from a career & place you love.
- Quite possibly, following God’s will for you leads you to a new place, maybe one you never imagined.
It could be that you invested twenty-four years in a certain location.
It could be that you feel content & confident in the task you currently do & stepping away, to do a new task scares you to death.
It could also be that you had developed cherished friendships over the years.
Most-definitely, those who see you pack to leave may question if you have indeed lost your mind. “Nancy, no one leaves after twenty-four years,” but they should if the Lord is calling them away, to leave for a new place.
No one in his right mind would leave one place and suffer with a pay-cut, but they will if they realize the Lord is in the moving of them to this new place.
GOD’S WILL is difficult to follow at times; nevertheless, GOD’S WILL IS JUST THAT—GOD’S WILL.
NOTHING ELSE MATTERS!
- “And both that morning equally lay” the decision right before our vision—this way or that.
- “And both that morning equally lay” the decision to follow God or to not.
- “And both that morning equally lay” the two roads of decision, but which one would we follow?
“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.” (Frost 1915)
God is all-wise.
Maybe we have lost sight of the fact that God sees much more than we ever will.
Maybe we have forgotten—God is working His plan, His purpose—right here in our midst.
Have we ever noticed how God shows up when we get to the end of our own selfishness, right at the end of ourselves.
Have we ever noticed how GOD’S PLAN for our lives IS SO MUCH MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN OURS!!!
- Will we follow God’s will—or not?
- Will we do God’s will—or not?
- Will we choose “The Road Less Traveled”— or not?
- Will we walk as a follower of Christ, despite what the world may say, think, or do—or not?
Frost wrote in 1915—
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
May we pray & May we study the Bible & May we stand in the gap & May we walk in obedience & May we experience God’s will for our lives.
Solomon, the man who asked God for all wisdom, was led through God’s direction to write these words thousands of years ago—
“Many plans are in a man’s heart,
(The Proverbs 19: 21 NASB)
But the counsel of the LORD will stand.”