The Bullseye

Over the years I’ve heard countless people tell me they want to be in “God’s will.” They search and search for it…as if it’s hiding somewhere. Most times I see people toiling away at life, hoping they find God in some sort of cosmic game of hide and seek. But what if you were in God’s will and all this time you’ve been focused on the wrong things?

The ‘if only’ mentality is killing us. The ‘I should have…’ is simply regret. The ‘If life was different I would…’ is just the blame game. You have one life to live and you have today to make the most of the opportunities God has given. That is God’s will. It’s not some bullseye that you have to hit dead in the center. Because the truth is, none of us have hit that mark right in the middle; we’ve made mistakes and missteps. Those miscalculations in life are just chances to start again, make a course correction. 

I have a friend that constantly says what he intended to do. He meant to do ‘this or that,’  but he got sidetracked or someone else got in the way. It reminds me of the story of the crippled man who gave excuses at the healing pool of Bethesda. He actually gave excuses to Jesus himself. 

“I have no one to help me get into the pool when it is stirred. And when I come to the water, someone gets there before me!” (John 5:7)

Sounds familiar, huh? I am willing to guess that you know someone that feels that nothing is their fault and that the world has just dealt them a losing hand. Sure, some things just happen and life comes at you fast…but often times, our response to life is what dictates our future. 

Instead of waiting for God to drop the details of the rest of your life into your lap, seek and listen, continue to trust Him to bless what you’re already doing, and be open to where He might be leading.

The beauty of this pool story is what happens after the complaint to Jesus: 

Jesus said, “Stand up. Pick up your mat and walk. And immediately the man was made well; he picked up his mat and began to walk.” John 5:8-9

So maybe we can look at today as an opportunity to see ‘how’ God will bless rather than ‘if’ He will. 

He is making us well, even when we don’t hit the bullseye. 

Matt