Where Are You Headed?

We’re all establishing patterns and going in a direction in our lives. The things that we’re consistently doing often take time to really show up and prove whether we’ve been doing the right things or not. It’s that way in all avenues of life, but the most important question is where are we going with God, or not going? God is long-suffering and willing for none to perish in sin, so if we’re not going in the right direction with him, then it may not be showing up in a big way yet. By the same token, he’s not quick to enforce penalties for wrongdoing (Ezek. 18:3; II Pet. 3:9; Eccl. 8:11). If we are really doing the right things in God’s sight, it sometimes feels as though we won’t be rewarded, and our efforts are in vain. It even feels and looks like some of the time that those who are not doing good are being rewarded as if they are (Isa. 49:4; Eccl. 8:14; Jer. 12:1,2). But the truth is always that God is the judge of all the earth and he judges everything in perfect righteousness at all times (Gen. 18:25). The reality is that what we have or have not been doing consistently, whether for good or for bad, is absolutely going to catch up with us. There is no other possibility because God doesn’t take any time off, and he always executes righteous judgment(Jer. 9:24; Jer. 17:10; Psm. 105:7).

If we are not persevering in doing what pleases God, and that is our pattern, then that is going to catch up with us, regardless of what seems to be going on now (Eccl. 8:13; Jer. 12:3; James 5:5). On the other hand, if we are doing what we’re supposed to be doing for God, and it doesn’t seem like there is a reward for it, that most assuredly will catch up with us as well. As the scriptures says: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Gal. 6:9). If we are praying with honest humility, sincerity and faith on a regular basis with perseverance, and we’re praying about the right kind of things; our prayers are being heard, and God will attend to them in his time, as Jesus said: “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? (Lk. 18:7). If we are neglecting God, and things seem to be going well, we should hope that things change and that we’re brought into a condition of neediness of heart and dependency on God (Mat. 5:3). The flip side of that coin is not somewhere that we would want to end up (Job 21:7-21; Psm. 73:2,3,5,12-20).