Don't Ask God to Make the Road Easier
Don't Ask God to Make the Road Easier — Prepare Yourself for the coming Journey
Proverbs 16:3 — "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans."
It's interesting how often we ask God to make our path a little easier. I have to admit, I have done it myself. We ask Him to help us win the lottery, beat a team we're competing against, or give us an advantage over someone else.
In essence, we're asking God to pick sides and bless us rather than someone else. I sometimes wonder: Why would God think I deserve something that my opponent might also be praying for?
Another common scenario is asking God to get us out of a difficult situation, even when it's one we've created ourselves. We somehow believe that because we've been good people, at least in our own eyes, we've earned the right to special access to God's grace and favor.
But perhaps we're approaching this the wrong way. Instead of constantly asking God to make things easier or favor us over someone else, why not spend more time preparing ourselves for what lies ahead and thanking god for where we have been.
Prepare for the unexpected. Consider taking the road less traveled. Don't always choose the easiest path; choose the one that challenges you and helps you grow. Pursue something you might be uncomfortable doing, something you fear you might fail at, but that will expand your skills and better prepare you for the challenges you may face in the future.
I believe this philosophy fits perfectly with my thoughts on retirement. One of the messages I often share in my retirement blog is that you should retire to something, not from something.
Making that transition successfully requires preparation. You need to explore your interests, develop your skills, and begin building the foundation for where you want to go long before you leave your full-time career. Don't wait until you've retired to start figuring out what comes next.
If your goal is to pursue an entirely new career, understand that it may take five years or more to establish yourself. This is particularly true if you're entering a field where you have no background, experience, or professional history that others can use to evaluate your abilities.
You have to explore the possibilities, build relationships, develop your knowledge, and establish your credibility. So don't shy away from challenges. Don't let the fear of failure keep you from trying something new. When opportunities present themselves, embrace them and pursue them with enthusiasm and determination.
Ultimately, retirement represents a transition from a world where much of your time and direction have been dictated by someone else to a world where you have much greater control over how you spend your days and what you accomplish.
But that freedom doesn't automatically guarantee a fulfilling future. You have to prepare for it. Let me know what you think about my post this week.
Perhaps instead of asking God to make our journey easier, we should ask Him to give us the wisdom, courage, and determination to prepare for the journey ahead.
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