The Next Right Step

It’s a brand new year: 2019! The possibilities have never been more possible. The time to cast off laziness and readjust our visions has not a better time. The time to act is now.

What path are you going down, or up? What’s your vision for this year? What kind of writing projects are you working on? Being an author, especially a self-published one, can make goals difficult to make and stick to. You aren’t accountable to anyone to meet a deadline or get any writing completed. There are your awaiting fans, however. Still, the choice is yours, and you have no contract compelling you to follow through when your motivation is lacking.

In a sense, this works with all aspects of life. We have a choice to act on so many paths, and no one can force the will of another human being. The question is, how do you know what next step to take? Do you have a standard? Do you have a guide? Even further, do you have a purpose in life?

One answer can be found in a few choice books of the Bible: Joshua, Ruth, and 1 Samuel. In Joshua, God led the Israelites into the famous Promised Land, and commanded them to cut off all the inhabitants in the land so that those natives would not deter His people’s mission as His glory-bearers in the future. In Ruth, Ruth and Boaz brought Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi full restoration of her grievous losses through their generosity and righteousness toward one another. In 1 Samuel, the saga between King Saul and King David begins, and how Saul chose jealousy and pride, while David chose God.

What’s the common theme? Or put differently, what do these histories show about life? A successful life is one walked in obedience to God. Were Joshua, Ruth, Boaz, and David slaves to boring laws God wrote down on stone tablets? Were they stick-in-the-muds for being such goody-two-shoes? Did they take life “too seriously?” No; rather the opposite. Tragedy struck for all who did not turn and follow God, even for David at times. The story of life ends happily despite all troubles when it is lived loving the right next step. Even as a story writer, the work is for God and not for man.