~ This Is The Way, Walk In It. ~

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

Isaiah 30:21

I am so thankful for spontaneous moments to talk with my children about what God is doing in their hearts. I will tell you that I don’t take those opportunities lightly and they are a very serious matter.  With having three kids, time alone with each of them is a rare occurrence but when it does arise, I love to be able to hear about what is going on in their lives. It is a huge blessing to have them openly share with us about their joys and struggles. We have always had a great avenue of communication with each of our children and continue to pray that at each stage of their lives, that they will still feel comfortable sharing with us their fears and victories.

At the end of the last school year, Ben began a little side job. He started helping a friend of ours from church in his bread route here in the Burgaw/Rocky Point area. It has been a huge blessing for Ben. He is really learning about responsibility and work ethic and I am so proud of how he has handled his first job. Well, because Ben doesn’t have his driver’s license yet Matt or I have to accompany him as he does his route twice a week. This has provided a wonderful time of one on one conversation with him in the car. I just have to say what a fine young man Ben has become. At 16 years of age, he shows such respect for us and strives to do what is right in the eyes of God.  We, as parents, don’t take this for granted. Every day is hard in the life of a teenager. Temptations arise, choices are made, and paths become hard to figure out, so, we pray that our children will continue to seek our guidance as they journey through these tough years.

Last night I had the privilege of taking Ben out and during our drive he began to share with me about a situation that came up during the day and how he handled it. I just listened and was so touched as my son shared how he felt as though God was trying to show him something but didn’t know exactly what.  What an open door to talk about the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Romans 5:5

What Ben was experiencing was a conviction on his heart and he was at a place of either obedience or disobedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  I was able to share with him my own experiences with feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit in my life and times that I obeyed and times when I disobeyed and what the outcomes were in each situation.

What a blessing it was to see him recognize the Holy Spirit’s leading in his life and come to a point of decision. Was he going to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit or was he going to directly disobey what was laid on his heart?  Well, that is a decision I cannot make for him. Was it something that was wrong to do or not do? Absolutely not, because if it was something that was outside the Word of God, I would not let him act on it, but this was a personal conviction that was led by the Holy Spirit and had to be between Ben and his God. It was his choice.

You know, we make decisions every day. Some are easy because you know if they are right or wrong, but then there are the decisions that we have to make based on the conviction of the Holy Spirit that may be fine for one person but it is not right for you.  Those are the ones that test our character. Do we follow the Holy Spirit’s leading when others around us don’t understand? When it doesn’t always make sense to others but we know what God is leading us to do? Well, that is when you realize how you stand for Christ!

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

Isaiah 30:21

Just like Ben has to choose to obey or disobey the Holy Spirit’s leading in this area of his life, we too have to decide which way we are going to go. I can tell you from experience that walking in the way of the Spirit has always led to real growth and deeper faith and trust in my God and walking away from his leading has led to dissatisfaction and many cases destruction.  What a beautiful moment last night with my son! The biblical truths that Matt and I guide them in now will be the ones that he will look to when he is on his own. That is a BIG responsibility! I want to guide my children in the truth of God’s Word because when they are out on their own and there are choices to be made, I want them to know that the only true source in a dark world is God’s Word. Will they make wrong choices? Of course they will. I make wrong choices too and fall flat on my face sometimes, but I go God’s Word for the truth to set me free.  The choice is ours. Every day we will encounter new opportunities before us to obey God or disobey and we have to decide.

Which way will you go?