The Least Resistance or The Most Glory?

Over the course of the last week or so my wife and I have been wrestling with what presently seem like very difficult, potentially life-changing decisions. One decision in particular seemed to offer three potential outcomes, none of which I was very excited about. And so we spent a lot of time in prayer pleading for godly wisdom and discernment and asking God to align the desires of our hearts with the desires of His heart so that we would make the right decision. I am confident that God did just that, but more importantly in the process I believe that He reminded me of an important principle which, as believers, we need to settle in our hearts and live out on a daily basis.

Although all three of what I perceived to be the potential outcomes of the particular decision facing myself and my family presented huge challenges, there was one that I was convinced posed the set of smallest problems. Making the choice to move in this particular direction would allow me to continue to hold on to something which I really cherished and seemed to only present a few small challenges that, if I worked hard enough at and managed things well enough, I could still overcome on my own. It was clearly the path of least resistance. It was the decision that logic and reason would have made. The problem was it seemed as though God was leading away from this decision and leading myself and my family to make a decision that was going to put us in a more difficult situation. So the question is, "Would we really consider doing that - putting ourselves in a more difficult situation simply because we felt like that was the direction God was leading?" And the follow-up question would be "Why?"

The answer to the first question is 'yes.' The answer to the second question is two fold. First, my desire and the desire of my family is to always act in obedience to God's leading. And secondly, we always want to do that which is going to bring the most glory to God. Let me explain a little more. The decision we are making is putting us in a place where we are completely incapable of doing anything in our own power to accomplish one of our desires and it is forcing me to let go of something that I was holding on to too tightly. And after much prayer and meditation I think that this is exactly what God wants. You see not only is God the only one worthy of glory and honor, but after reading different books and articles by men much smarter than myself I believe that God also desires that His people would make much of Him and exalt Him in both their words and deeds. This doesn't make God egotistical, but rather this is what the creator deserves from His creation. In choosing the path of least resistance I was on the verge of making two big mistakes. The first would have been idolatry. By holding onto a cherished possession and telling God that I was unwilling to let go of it, I would have been communicating to God that this possession was more important and more valuable in my life than He is. It would have been elevating a created thing over the creator. I don't think I could call that anything other than idolatry. The other mistake I would have been making is that I would have been communicating to my family and those in my sphere of influence that I really don't believe in a big God who is capable of accomplishing whatever He wants. Instead, by taking the situation into my own hands and relying on my own abilities I would have been communicating that I really see God as small, weak, and incapable, which is why I would have to take things into my own hands. That's not glorifying at all! Instead of making much of God it is actually doing the opposite - it's making less of Him.

So here is a decision that we as believers have to make in our hearts and minds - to always choose that which will bring the most glory to God, rather than that which will result in the least resistance for ourselves. (Please understand that this doesn't mean that we always put ourselves in the most difficult situations we can imagine expecting God to do the miraculous to get us through the situations. God gave us all an intelligent mind to think through and reason through the circumstances that we encounter in life. Therefore we ought to use the minds that we have been given to make wise choices.) When we, as a result of diligent and fervent prayer, sense God leading in a direction that seems to present enormous challenges and obstacles, we shouldn't focus on the details that weigh so heavily on our mind and our emotions. Instead we ought to focus on the greatness of our God and what He can do in the midst of great challenges. When we step out on faith and make those choices that allow God to put his greatness on display, we help to bring the most glory to God. It communicates to God that we believe He is who He says He is and that we are willing to trust Him - an act that brings great glory to Him. In stepping out on faith we allow a lost world to see our faith in our God who does work in our lives and accomplishes great things that we could not do on our own. In stepping out on faith we also edify fellow believers by encouraging them to trust God in the difficult circumstances in their lives.

So let's determine in our hearts and minds right now, before the challenges come and before the hard times bring great stress and uncertainty to always ask our Father, "What will bring You the most glory in this situation?" Then let's resolve to do it, trusting that His glory is far more important than a brief, easier, less resistant path.

We love You Father God. May the desire of our heart always be to increase Your glory and fame!