The Road to Life at Its Best - Part 1

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Monday, January 2nd. God not only wants to set us on His path, He also wants to guide us along the way. Here's part one of The Road to Life at its Best. Our life is like a road we travel, and for some it's a very long road, and for other people it's a short road. But for some people, for example, it's very difficult, very demanding, and sometimes very dangerous.

For other people, you may say, well, they look like they have it all their way and everything looks so easy. But remember this, in every life, there are trials, there are disappointments, and there are hindrances and heartaches and oftentimes pain. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that life's going to be easy. God never says that.

He makes many wonderful promises, but He never says anything about it being easy. And so, I want to talk about this whole idea, the fact that our life is like a road. And for us to follow that road, to follow His road, is always the best choice. And I want you to turn to a small passage, if you'll look in Proverbs chapter four for a moment. And I want us to begin in verse ten. And just verse ten through thirteen, listen to what Solomon writes here.

He says, Hear, my son, and accept my sayings. And the years of your life will be many. I have directed you in the way of wisdom. I have led you in upright paths. When you walk, your steps will not be impeded. And if you run, you will not stumble.

Sometimes we think we've stumbled, but it may be a difficulty that God has allowed in our life as something He wants to teach us or to prepare us for. Then when He says, Take hold of instructions, that is, grab it, grasp it, hold it tight. Be serious about it. Do not let go.

Guard her, for she is your life. So, the implication here is that God has a plan for us. He's a God of wisdom. He has the best plan possible. And what we want to do is to follow that plan.

And in order to do that, what we have to do is we have to begin with deciding this question. Who is going to guide my life? Jesus Christ is the faithful guide.

You remember what He said, and we quote this verse often. He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. He is the right way. He's the best way. He's a planned way. And you can't be His way. All you have to do is to look around and see people who've ignored Christ in their life, who are ignoring Him, and who've decided they can live their life the way they choose. And whether they're motivated by money or motivated by popularity and prominence or prestige or whatever it might be, the issue is who's guiding your life.

And I would ask you to consider that personally at this moment. Who is guiding your life? You say, well, I'm a Christian so I guess Jesus is.

Not necessarily. Because you've been saved doesn't mean He's guiding your life. That is a deliberate decision you have to make that Jesus is going to guide my life and I'm going to submit to His guidance and His direction. If He's guiding your life, you can just mark this down. It's the best path you could travel.

It's the best road you could travel. You may say, well, if it's all that good, why am I going through such difficulty and hardship and pain? Because oftentimes God knows it takes those difficult hardships, those painful, those trying times to do what? To make of us the person He wants us to be.

To build character into our life. To make us an example of what God is able to do in a person's life who goes through those trying times. You remember what He says in Romans eight twenty-eight? He says, He causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him. He didn't say accept pain, hardship, suffering, difficulties, and disappointments. All of those things are a part of it. Jesus didn't escape many of those hardships. His disciples did not. Why should we think?

We should. And so, being our guide, He's going to lead us in the right way every single time. Now, it's interesting that people will quote the twenty-third Psalm. And if you'll notice how many promises He makes in that Psalm about guiding us and leading us and protecting us and so forth.

And here's the mistake people make. And I was talking to somebody this week and it brought it to my mind. This young lady was talking about, she was questioning whether she even believed in God or not. And I know that she did believe in Him. And she questioned whether God loved her or not. And on and on and on she went with all these questions. And why is God allowing these things to happen in her life?

So, I began to listen to her tell me about what was going on in her life. And it was one act of disobedience after the other. One act of sin after the other.

And I said, wait a minute. You're expecting God to be this loving, kind, sweet God who gives you everything in the world you want and just meeting all your needs. And you're living in continual disobedience to God. He's trying to lead you as one of His followers. And has it dawned on you that God is allowing you to experience what you have chosen?

When you choose disobedience, you get what disobedience brings. He is a faithful, loyal, loving guide. Which means that you and I do not have to depend just upon ourselves or our wisdom, but upon His. And He's willing to lead anyone who is willing to be led. And when you notice in this passage, He talks about either walking or running, either one.

But it all begins with Him. So, I would ask you this morning, who is guiding your life? You say, well, I am.

Well, is that really true? Are you listening to other people? Are you listening to their opinions? Are they making suggestions to you that you're picking up on? Are they putting pressure on you to make a decision in this way or that way in your life? Are they saying to you, well, if I were you, here's what I would do.

Usually when somebody tells you that, put stoppers in your ears. For the simple reason, they're not you. They don't know the will of God for your life. And therefore, you have to decide who's going to guide my life. You say, I guide my own life.

No. You know what? None of us are capable of guiding our own life wisely. Either we let the Lord Jesus Christ to guide us or we're going to head out in the wrong direction. And the road we'll travel will be the road that you see many people traveling which ends up not only in difficulty and hardship and pain, but for many people, a disaster.

For many people, it's a disaster. It's a route they've chosen. They've chosen to disobey God. They've chosen to ignore the Word of God. They've chosen to do it their own way. And the reason they're where they are is because of choices they make. And somehow we live in a society that propagates the idea there are no consequences to disobedience.

There is no way that you can violate a principle of the Word of God without suffering. And every single one of us believes this. You reap what you sow, more than you sow, later than you sow, except me. That's the way they hear that. Except me.

No. Every single one of us, we reap what we sow, more than we sow, later than we sow. And it's the lie that there are no consequences to sin that people haven't gravitated to. So, when we think about the guide, I ask you one more time, who is guiding your life? Well, if you choose Jesus to guide your life by receiving Him as your personal Savior and following in His way, listen, the best life that God can provide for you, He's in the process of working in your life. You can't pick out your life at one particular time and say, Well, where was God here? Where was God there? Because oftentimes in those difficult times, He is there so absolutely present.

Working through situations and circumstances to make you the person God wants you to be. But the issue is that He's the guide. Now, in order for me to listen to my guide and to follow the right road, I've got to think right. And to think right, I've got to have a clear mind. And the only way to have a clear mind is to have a clean heart.

If your heart is not clean, listen, your mind is not going to be clear. And if it's not, you're going to miss out on some very important things. For example, when you and I are thinking the way God thinks, we're thinking the right way about things. We'll have a discernment to know not only what's right and wrong, but what's good, what's best. And listen, what is the will and purpose and plan of God? He'll give us understanding. We'll begin to see things the way He sees them. We'll begin to interpret life from His perspective, not the world's perspective. So, I ask you, who's guiding your life?

And do you have a clear mind that you can think the way God wants you to think about your life? That He is your guide? Only He has the wisdom to know how you're to walk.

You see, here's the thing about it. God knows what you want. He knows what you love.

He knows what you would do if you knew what He knows. And He's willing to show us so clearly if we're willing to listen. But if my heart's not clean, then my mind's not going to be clear and I'm not going to think right and I'm going to suffer the consequences of not thinking the way God would have us to think. It's interesting what Paul said. Paul said, he says, we have the mind of Christ. That is, when you receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, listen, we have the capacity to think the way He would think if He were in these bodies of ours and He were living in these circumstances you and I are living in. In other words, we can think the way He would have us to think.

And the wonderful thing is He's given us His Word so that any question we have about life, any decision you and I have to make, there's an answer in the Word of God. There are no contradictions in the book. Think about this. Think about all the millions and millions and millions of books there are in the world. Manuscripts, books on top of books on top of books, libraries on top of libraries.

You could throw every single one of those books away and if you kept this one, what would happen? You'd have all the knowledge and all the wisdom you need to live a Godly life. That's how powerful the Word of God is. Thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. He says, our times are in His hands.

And He says, teach us in the way which we should go. You and I can make the best of our life if we'll follow our faithful God who is Jesus who is willing to show us His way and to show us His will. But we must set our mind on things that are not in this world but on things that are of God.

And every single believer has this awesome privilege. And you see, you have to ask yourself the question, if things aren't going right in your life, why are they not going right? Is there anything God cannot change? Are you where you are because of what you have decided, what God has decided? We all know the answer to that.

For every single one of us, we know the answer. But if deep in my heart I want God's best, think about this. If I want God's best, got to follow Jesus' way.

It's just that simple. Not only that, but if I want the best, I have to acknowledge the fact that my heavenly Father has a right to give guidance in my life, which means my daily activities, the schedule of my life. And what does He desire? A balanced schedule. That is, God desires that you and I live out our life to the best.

And He doesn't mean live it haphazardly. When you wake up in the morning, what's the first thing you think about? Is it unreasonable to say, and it's not, that one of the first things you should think about in the morning when you wake up is the Lord Jesus? God, I need wisdom for this day. I need strength for this day. I need help.

Make me sensitive to what's going on around me. Lord, I need Your guidance today. The truth is every single one of us could pray that prayer and should mean it. We need His wisdom, His guidance, His direction, His protection to be sensitive every day for what's going on around us. So, how do you begin your day? If He's my God, He also has a right to give me a schedule, to show me how to walk it out and to live it out every day. And when I think about that, I think about, well, what would a Christian's day look like?

Here's what it should look like. First of all, private devotions in the morning, whether you read one chapter of the Bible or whether you read two chapters or whether you read a few verses and spend time in praying. But at least listen, begin the day. Listen carefully. You've got to remember this. Begin the day with the One who is your guide. Is that not reasonable?

Yes. The infinite, all-wise, loving, helpful, empowering, enabling God. Secondly, of course, you must work. Now, you shouldn't have the attitude, Oh my goodness, I got to go to work. No, everybody who has a job today should wake up in the morning saying, Thank You Father, I have a work to go to. I have a work to go to. So, there is your devotion in the morning.

There is work to be done. Then there's rest. Then there's your family relationships and your friends, for example. Then you, sometimes you have to deal with your finances or at least check on them daily.

It's always a wise thing to do at this time. And then, of course, your own personal fitness, your health, what you eat, your exercise. People say, Well, that's not really important.

It is important. You say, Well, I don't see Jesus exercising. Yes, He did. You know why I know He did? Because He walked everywhere He went. He walked everywhere He went. So, He didn't have to worry about weight and all the rest.

He walked everywhere He went. Then you think about, when it comes to that, you think about in the evening. Well, how do you end the evening? You know how most folks end the evening? You could tell me. Watching television, filling your mind with the world's ideas and philosophies. You say, Well, I don't do that.

Yes, you do. Let me tell you something. You, listen, you can't sit and watch it without getting programmed.

If your eyes see it, your ears hear it, your mind registers, it gets in your subconscious and it is a part of you. And so, when I think about a person whose body is not functioning properly, can't be their best. Now, there are diseases that we don't know why they come. And there are things that happen to people that none of us have an answer for. It has nothing to do with anybody being holy or less holy because they're sick.

The issue is, we have a responsibility as best we know how to take care of these physical bodies of ours. So, I'm going to give you a list. The reason I want to give you a list is because I want you to write it down. If I just said it, you wouldn't get it all down. So, I want you to notice this because what I want you to see is, I want you to see things that weaken our bodies, which are, by the way, the temple of the Holy Spirit. When somebody says, I can do anything I want to do with my body.

You can, but you'll violate the Word of God. Temple of the Holy Spirit. So, how does it weaken? First of all, look at this. Your energy for the task. When you're not in good health, you don't have the energy to do what you need to do.

That's just a known fact. Secondly, your ability to focus. When you're sick, your mind is divided. Oftentimes, you can't focus the way you ought to focus. And then, the degree of alertness.

You're not as alert when you're sick and your mind is divided as you could be. Then, of course, readiness to take on new challenges. When a person doesn't feel very good physically, they're not ready to take on new challenges. They'll say, well, wait, I've got to get over this or get over that or whatever it might be. And then, of course, the capacity to finish a task.

Many people start things they never finish. If your body isn't working properly, there are lots of things that happen and this is certainly one of them. And so, if somebody says, well, I'd like to finish the task, but I don't feel like it. Well, because if your body is not healthy, it makes a difference. Then, of course, the level of enthusiasm. It's real hard to be enthusiastic about something when you feel like you had a ton on you.

Or you have some ache or pain or you've hurt yourself in some way. Then, the willingness to take risk. Willingness to take risk does not come very easily when your body is not functioning properly. So, that's why I think it's so very, very important that we take seriously what we're saying. Then, of course, the speed at which you operate.

When a person is ill, they can't go at the same speed they can otherwise. So, ask yourself the question, does it make a difference what I did with my body? Yes, it does. Whose body is it? It belongs to God.

He says it's the temple of the Holy Spirit. That should dictate what I put in it, what I avoid putting in it, or how I operate it, how we function in life. And when you think about the fact that it's a major issue in America that we have so much food that, well, I won't get into all of that except to say we do have a problem. And we, our wealth and our good blessing is about bless some folks to death. And so, it gets the best of them. We're responsible. We can't blame anybody. As I said, there's some diseases we don't know why.

But for the most part, we have the privilege and the responsibility to keep our bodies healthy. Thank you for listening to The Road to Life at Its Best. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.