Have you ever fervently prayed and asked God if you are on the path that He wants you on or if you are just being guided by your own wants and desires? I remember someone saying that most people don’t want to hear from God because even if they did they wouldn’t do what He told them to do anyway. Due to recent events I have taken a deep look at my life and noticed that many of the challenges that I face have more to do with what my focus was on and not what was going on right in front of me that God wanted me to see. There are many days that I focus more on the obstacles than the path. As a believer, the first task of the day should be to ask God what He wants for us, and where He wants us to be. To find these things out, we need to be regularly in the word, spending quiet time in prayer, and be in fellowship with other like minded believers who are available to help us stay on the path God has for us. I like what is written in *Proverbs 10:17 He who learns from instruction and correction is on the [right] path of life [and for others his example is a path toward wisdom and blessing], But he who ignores and refuses correction goes off course [and for others his example is a path toward sin and ruin].* I have been blessed to be able to minister to many going through different types of situations and yet they all seem to have a common thread of excuses, I have been focused on ____ and not on what God has for me. I have been drinking a lot because I am focused on what I don’t have instead of the blessings in front of me. I have been consumed with seeking a mate because I don’t want to be alone, forgetting that we are to be consumed in our relationship with God. I have been preoccupied with making money because I don’t have a new car, nice house, or a retirement plan, instead of seeing the blessing of having a car that goes from point A to point B, a roof over their head, and the ability to work enough to provide enough for today’s daily bread, for tomorrow is not promised. As Christians, we all need to know what path God has chosen for us and when we find that out we need to develop strategies for staying on that path and being laser focused on what He wants us to do, obeying and walking in the light of what has been revealed to us. How many of us can genuinely say what is written in *Psalms 25:4 Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths.* and then be willing to be obedient when He does? Many people are going through a season of defeat, as a testing period, due to their lack of spiritual direction and straying from the path. It is most important that we stay with God and walk in His ways if we want to fulfill the destiny that He has planned out for each of us as His children. There are some day when I relate to the refining process due to my own straying from the path and relate deeply to what is written in *Isaiah 48:10 “Indeed, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested and chosen you in the furnace of affliction.* I like what Charles Spurgeon said, “The Lord gets His best soldiers out of the furnace of affliction.” My prayer is simple, Dear Heavenly Father, whatever it takes to keep me on the path I welcome openly and say boldly, Lord, may Your will not mine be done even in the furnace of affliction, help me to focus on the path and not the obstacles, trusting You to direct me in Your ways by the power of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ precious and powerful name, Amen. In Christ Love, douglas. HE>i. pastord.blog

To any who are interested, please feel free to reach out to me with prayer requests, questions, encouragement, or for information on how to come alongside me with financial support for the ministry activities that God has entrusted to me at pastord.blog@gmail.com