Have you ever wondered what made the resolve of Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego unflinching? Why was Ruth ready to give up her youthful years following a woman who has well passed her menopause? Why was Daniel still fiery in his prayers despite the concrete threat of death? And why was Paul unperturbed in the face of numerous deadly experiences?
A common denominator that I see in these individuals I mentioned above and countless others in the Bible is this: they discovered the right path for them. Their path was illuminated, so whatever happened to them didn’t influence their resolve to pursue their divinely ordained route.
There’s something about knowing that you’re on the right path; that you’re doing exactly what God wants you to do. It’s satisfying in the presence of hunger, encouraging before discouragement, soothing amidst the pains and revitalising even in the face of death.
Now, you have a path that God has designed for you. It is on that path that you find purpose, fulfilment and peace. I’ll briefly highlight possible ways to discover the right path for you:
1. Go to your Maker, God:
This is actually the most effective way to know your path. Now, understanding how God speaks to you is very important in this regard. To do this, you need to develop an intimacy with God. When you have a close relationship with a person, you can tell when and how they speak. This to a great extent applies to our relationship with God; we get to hear and understand Him the more we draw close to Him. When God spoke to Samuel he didn’t understand (1 Samuel 3:1-7). When Paul had an encounter with Jesus on his way to Damascus, he desired to know whose voice it was because there wasn’t an established relationship yet (Acts 9:5).
So, God can show you the path to follow as He did to Abraham. Genesis 12; Isaiah 30:21; Psalms 23:3; Jeremiah 6:16. The pattern He’ll choose will depend on him and how best He knows you’ll understand the message – His Word, an audible voice, vision, etc. So, get intimate with God, that’s fundamental.
2. Go inside of you.
Sometimes, God speaks through our intuition. This happens especially when one has become so close to God, that he subjects his will to God’s will. In this case, there’s a free flow of information from God’s heart to yours, so much that you’re able to tell God’s mind even without hearing an audible voice. Such alignment helps you get divine direction. Added to this is the fact that God has given us the spirit of wisdom and discernment. This enables us to make decisions in our daily lives without necessarily hearing God each time. So, when it seems as if God isn’t speaking, prayerfully deploy wisdom and intuition.
3. Through your parents:
I consider this point very important and I hope to write more on this with time. The mother of Samson had an encounter (Judges 6:1-24). The father of John the Baptist had an encounter (Luke 1:5-17). Mary, the earthly mother of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, had an encounter (Luke 1:26-38). Before Jeremiah was born, God had defined his path for him.
So, there are times when people’s paths have already been defined for them before they were born. That doesn’t mean that the rest of us are just the afterthoughts of God. No. God chooses people for special assignments (Gal. 1:15-17; John 15:16).
So, in this case, you may have to ask your parents certain questions surrounding your birth. There may have been certain circumstances surrounding your birth that points the way for you already, find that out. If your parents aren’t available, ask close relatives or better still, go to God to understand covenants and agreements made before you were conceived or during the perinatal period.
4. Through Genuine Godly People:
This is another important way to discover the right path for you. There are certain things you won’t understand about yourself even when you have wisdom. There are certain things God may never directly talk to you about. But He will make you know them through His children, who may be believers in your local assembly, tutors, mentors, teachers, Pastors, godly friends, godly writers etc. This could happen through prophecy, counselling, godly discussions, reading etc.
There are many discoveries I’ve made concerning myself as I listened to the counsels and teachings of others. And by reading. I would never have believed those things about myself nor attempted those paths if they didn’t talk to me. It’s like talents, sometimes others help you discover your area of gifting/calling. Someone had to explain to Samuel that the voice came from heaven, that it was the voice of God (1 Samuel 3:7-11)
5. Through careful observation of situations:
Some of us have discovered our paths through careful observation of prevailing situations. How? When you look around you, your neighbourhood, nation, the world and the happenings, what do you think? What do you see? What do you feel within? They could be feelings of engineering a change, feelings of improving what is, desire to satisfy a need.
Several visions that are realities today were birthed through conscious observation of history, events, trends, patterns. You may not have all the instruments to accomplish that desire, but that’s not important at the moment. What is important at the moment is the discovery, the instruments will come as you proceed on that path.
The Bible and indeed history is full of such men and women who toed this route in the discovery of their right paths. David discovered his path as he observed the barrage of insults hurled at Israel and on God by Goliath. He desired a change and in doing so, discovered his path. (1 Samuel 17:32-58). What shall we say of Gideon? His conversation with the angel showed a young man that was dissatisfied with the prevalent condition of his people (Judges 6:12-14). So, what do you see? What do you feel deep within?
6. Serving with all diligence and consistency:
You don’t have to sit at a place all your life waiting for God to show your path. That may not happen. Or rather, God may be asking you to get busy with something and discover your right path as you go.
Some of us actually discovered our paths as we served in whatever capacity we found ourselves whether in the Church or the secular world. Discovering your path could be a journey that may take years. All you need to do is to be conscientious in your walk with and work for God. He makes everything beautiful in His time.
Returning to the example of Samuel, we see that Samuel was busy serving in the temple until he heard the call (1 Samuel 3:1). David was diligent in his work before he discovered that his path was to lead Israel not to lead the sheep. His experiences as a shepherd however were important in his new position as King. Loyally following Naomi and aligning with her God helped Ruth discover her path. (Ruth 1:16)
I hope this short article helped you understand how to discover your right path. If it did, kindly share it and tell me other ways you think one can explore in the search for the right path.
I pray God shows you the right path for you. You’re loved.
