“The Lord says, I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” ~Psalm 32:8

As Christians, we try hard to hone our spiritual hearing and spiritual sight. We listen for God’s voice to break through the background noise of the world so we’ll know our next steps. We know Jesus is the way, and we know our steps are ordered by God if we allow ourselves to be used by Him.

Often, there’s more than one course of action possible. We have choices in almost everything we do. God’s way is one of many we can pick; His voice is one of many we can listen to. What nobody else can claim though, is the best course of action. God’s way is not just the righteous or holy way; it’s the best way. And it’s ours to travel.

We step out in faith, partly fearing the sacrifices we’ll have to make. We step out in faith, having to resubmit our lives to God and reminding ourselves that we trust Him. We have to pray repeatedly over the same issues within our hearts because it’s so hard to give them up to our Lord. We step out, partly in fear, and hoping for the best.

God has been telling me lately that really there is no such thing as hoping for the best. The best we can have is already ours; we own it when we follow God. It might not look like it all the time, and it might feel painful sometimes. But if we truly believe that God is who He says He is, even the temporary setbacks are cause to rejoice. Because when God calls us to it, whether it’s hard or not, we are in the best possible place we could be. God will bless us for following Him, yes. But beyond that, God already knows the outcome of the courses of action to take. He knows your heart, but also the hearts of everyone else involved. Of course things don’t always seem like the best way to us; we have too much tunnel vision to see the true path. We can only know ourselves and see what our weak eyes can notice. God’s vision, however, is clear. It’s clear through to the end. And He will set your steps in the best possible direction.

Rebekah, for her part, surely had other potential husbands who lived closer to home. There were probably several good choices, decent men she may have had a good marriage with. But she traveled 500 miles with a stranger on a promise from God. She knew the way would be hard and scary, but she didn’t stop to question it. She knew that whatever God called her to be, wherever He sent her, was the best possible option for her life. So she went, willingly and immediately. The fact that she went before anybody even expected her to or wanted her to shows she trusted God completely and went with no fear in her heart. She trusted in God’s best pathway for her life.

As God was telling me this, I go on facebook and see a post from a friend who is moving away to a different country to be a missionary. She was telling her grandmother about the trip and her grandmother asked her where she’d be sleeping. She said “I’m hoping for the best.” Her grandmother, in reply, said “You know….we need to get it into our heads that whatever God gives us IS the best – no matter what it is.”

So I invite you, readers, to claim the best pathway with me. I’ve been called to walk away from a few things lately, and it hasn’t been easy. Maybe you feel God bringing you to a new location, or maybe you feel led to sacrifice something and fast. Whatever it may be, take the time to rejoice in it. Because while we can only see a narrow part of our role in the world, God can see it all. And if we follow in Him, we can rest assured that where we are is not only where we need to be, but the best possible place we can be.

God bless!

~Rebekah A