Where does that line lie?

Ok, so recently I have been thinking a lot about my life as I walk to and from school, and bike around the city(on my new bicycle, yay). I have found that thinking is a very complicated thing. Often times I wonder how I get from one subject to another and how I ended up there. On a recent walk to class, I found myself continuing to come back to the same conclusion to each of my thoughts. That conclusion was basically as follows: “Well, I guess if God wants me there, then I guess He will lead me in the right direction.” Over and over I came to this conclusion on topics like: “well, if God wants me to have a job then I guess I’ll get the job I applied for” or “If it is the right time for me to have a girlfriend then I guess I will find that special someone and He’ll point her out to me.”

Then I started question myself after awhile when thoughts like “well, if this is the right major that God wants me in then, then I guess my classes will be easy, and I will do well in them” started popping into my head. I think this is when I first thought of the fine line between relying and trusting in God too much to the extent that you are passive about what you do. For example, if I was to lie in bed all day watching TV and then say to myself; “well, if God wants me to get a job well then I guess he will get me a job” So hypothetically that would mean that I could just continue to sit around and God would provide for me. ABSOLUTELY NOT!

So I ask you, where does that line lie between trusting that God will give you what you need and becoming passive about the things you do in life. Here is where I think it lies. It starts with where you heart is and who you are out to serve. Are you out to serve yourself, or are you out to serve God? Ask yourself that question, I did and asking myself that question answered a lot of my own questions. Next, don’t be afraid to take your next step. Do it and then if you fall, God will pick you up and set you in the right direction. Now let’s not be extreme about this point. You could say, well you said to do it and then expect God to pick you up so that’s why I started smoking and now I am addicted. NO, that is not what I am talking about. This point definitely doesn’t mean that you should not be in thoughtful prayer about what God wants you to do with your life. What I am really trying to say is you should not be afraid live your life when you don’t know what God is calling you to do.

For me, that means I need to become disciplined in all areas of my life. A few include, school, relationships, working-out, and actively seeking to strengthen my relationship with Jesus. In then end almost everything that we stress over in life comes down to one thing. It’s all about how much discipline we have. Think about it. If you were more disciplined about studying, your grades would be better and your finals wouldn’t be so stressful. Or if you had the discipline to exercise for at least 30 minutes everyday, you would need to stress over how big your love handles are. Those are just a few examples, and I am sure that I could think of many more. I really think self-discipline is crucial in all areas of life.

There are a lot of things that I have brought up in this post that are controversial or even possibly not correct. I wrote this because I needed a way to organize my own thoughts on this subject, and sometimes writing out my thoughts helps me do this. I just thought I could share it with everyone, because sometimes one person’s thoughts and ideas impact another person’s life in a way that can never be foreseen. If you have anything you disagree with me on, tell me and I would be more than happy to hear it.