Correction and Direction

I just got back from something that I have been doing annually for over a decade. I go away and pray. I commune with God. I have questions, and He has answers. I listen. I sit in silence. I worship. I write down what He is saying and what my heart is telling me. The trick is to align those two.

Psalm 37:4 (NIV84)

⁴ Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Our culture is told and taught to “follow their heart”. That works great when your heart and God’s heart are aligned. That is no easy task when we have entertainment at our fingertips through social media that is meant to be psychologically and physiologically addictive. It is all too easy to compare ourselves to others rather than settle in with what God is calling us to do. It is easy to get distracted and even overwhelmed by all that is going on everywhere in the world.

I can hear people online say that the heart is desperately wicked. Don’t trust it!

Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV84)

⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

I don’t have a wicked heart anymore because I gave my heart to Jesus, and He gave me His. In fact, I even have His mind!

1 Corinthians 2:16 (NIV84)

¹⁶ “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Yes, as prophesied by Ezekiel twice, we have been given a new heart. (Ez. 11:19, 36:26) What happens to us then? How do we go so far off and begin to chasing what amounts to our wishes?

One thing that happens is we end up going with our desires, which are not always our heart's desires. They are the desires that are fed by media, culture, institutions, by the way we used to be, and our friends. We think that we are following our heart when, in fact, we are following the world. We are confused by what the massive amount of input is saying to us. Be a rock star, be an influencer, get rich, live minimally, enjoy yourself, be comfortable, and party on dude!

This is why I get away. I detach. Some do it for a week, but I have found that I can receive my correction and direction in a few days. It is amazing what happens when we concentrate on Jesus for hours at a time. When our focus is on Him, the alignment becomes clear.

Something that I do is write everything. I am a big tech guy, but writing does something different to our brains. Here are a few things I ask God for:

·       How can I fulfill my life mission?

·       What assignment do you have for me in this upcoming year?

·       Where am I off track or wasting my time?

·       How am I supposed to do that? (The answers to the above questions)

·       What needs adjustment in my personal life?

·       What do I need to accomplish personally?

There are other questions, but I find that these types of questions get a conversation started with the Father. The next key is the most important. Listen. Be quiet, stop asking questions, and listen. Then write what you hear. It is not important to have your milestones written down or create a PERT chart. The important thing is communion with the Creator of all, the one who saved you UNTO something. He created works for you to do and put within you the ability to do them. Find the works! Align your heart with the heart of God.

I pray that your 2026 will be filled with incredible promise and hope. I pray that you would not only find your mission and assignment, but also understand why you are doing it. God loves you. He trusts you with certain things. We serve at His pleasure and for the Kingdom. However, everything flows from a relationship with Him. This isn’t about being His servant, it is filled with the joy of being His son or daughter.