Choices

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT

 

If you had the choice to fulfill your childhood dream of stardom or follow God, which would you choose?

In the movie Grace Unplugged, eighteen year old Gracie Trey is a talented young musician who is anxious to hit it big in the music business. Gracie admires her retired rock star father who quit the business to be a worship leader. However, she believes he is trying to hold her back from her dreams when he tells her to use her talent for God.

As the story unfolds, she runs away from home, moves to Hollywood and launches her career as a mainstream pop singer. Gracie gets everything she ever wanted but discovers that she's losing her connection with God. When her manager starts asking her to sing songs that contradict her faith, she has a hard decision to make. Will she choose her own path or God’s?

Just like Gracie, we are all faced with a similar choice. Sometimes choosing our own path seems easier than God’s path. It’s faster and gets us exactly what we want, when we want it.

Sometimes I fall into the trap of wants. Those who know me pretty well are probably going to laugh right now because I’m usually a pretty frugal person. I shop in the clearance aisles and don’t even like to spend over twenty dollars on a purse.

But when e-readers first came out several years ago? Oh boy, I wanted one … bad. It was an early model and not to mention, overpriced but I had to have it. I made up a list of reasons why I needed this new gadget. Reasons like, I love to read … it takes up less space … I’ll save money on textbooks for school … and oh the biggest reason … I want it!

I’m not saying e-readers are bad but I should have done my research. Come to find out, I couldn’t read my textbooks on the device, it didn’t keep a good charge and a few months later a newer and fancier model made the one I had seem obsolete.

I learned my lesson about wants. My mistake wasn't life altering but it taught me a valuable lesson. In the end, we are usually disappointed with wants here on earth. They are artificial. Dreams of fame, popularity or material possessions fade away and only leave us unhappy and wanting more. Only God knows what we really need and the path that we should take.

God’s way is perfect. That’s one thing that is so important to remember. He knows what’s best for us and gave us talents to serve him. Following our own path and using our talents for ourselves might seem appealing and give us pleasure for a short time. In the end, seeking God’s will for the right path is the only way to find our true purpose in life.

 

Here is a music video from Grace Unplugged that goes along with this topic. Enjoy!

 

 

Thank you for reading and keep Shining for Him!

 

Photo Credit: (Witthaya Phonsawat) www.freedigitalphotos.net