No Formulas

It would be so handy if the faith-walk had formulas that always worked, like those we struggled to learn in high school algebra or college chemistry! An abundance of books on the market offer advice or even claim to have the "secret" to losing weight, communicating with your spouse, raising boys, raising girls, operating an ethical business, or eliminating debt. I searched the website today of a prominent mail-order distributor of Christian books for the word "successful" in their listings. There were nearly 1300 hits! If there is a dilemma of human life, most likely someone has written about getting out of it.

All this is fine; I've read quite a number of those books, and they do offer helpful counsel. God has used some of those ideas to steer me in the right direction. But I've never found a book that I could follow, bulleted-point by bulleted-point, to the desired end. It always comes down to relying on God to help me make my life work. There's no pat answer, no formula.

Actually, this uncertainty is evidence of God's amazing creativity. The spiritual journey for each of us is unique, not exactly like anyone else's. God deals with as individuals--not only as church congregations, or as families, or even as married couples. According to our individuality, He has varied ways of guiding us to a fulfilled life in Him. There is no formula, and that's exactly how it's supposed to be, for God's ways with His followers will not be reduced to a few simple formulas.

If you're in some kind of crisis, you've probably read or been told, "Do this," or "Don't do that." Maybe that was good advice, or maybe it just didn't work. I found, in my own troubled circumstances--and there were lots of those!--that the latter was true as often as not. I am in favor of godly counsel; that is one of God's ways of guiding us through difficulty. But don't be discouraged if something you have read or were told doesn't seem to work for you. Let God fine-tune that advice until it's just right for you. "For I know the plans I have for you,"declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

MaryMartha
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