Direction, Not Intention

Good Morning,

I promised you this week I would let you in on what Andy Stanley defines as the Principle of the Path.  So here it is:

Direction - Not Intention - Leads to Destination

You might be saying: “I waited a week for that!”  I agree it is simple, but it is also very profound.  I love how Stanley brings this reality into focus.  He says that “The direction you are currently traveling – relationally, financially, spiritually, and the list goes on and on – will determine where you end up in each of those respective arenas.  This is true regardless of your goals, your dreams, your wishes, or your wants. The principle of the path trumps all those things.”

There is another truth that corresponds with this principle: There are no exceptions.  That’s right, you are not the exception to the principle of the path.  You cannot head north and end up south.  No one has ever done it and you won’t either.  I don’t mean to be harsh here, but if you have goals and dreams that you are serious about then you need to make sure you acknowledge this and look down the road a bit.  

Allow me to elaborate with a few examples.  If you want to be on sound financial footing in the years ahead, you cannot abuse debt and live beyond your means now.  If you want the best chance to live and play with your grandchildren, then you better pay attention to your unhealthy habits, your diet and exercise.  If you want to build a strong marriage and family, then you better not spend 70 or 80 hours at work week after week after week. If you want God to be present in your life and your home, then you cannot leave him out of your daily patterns.  

The day you choose to get on the wrong road is also the day you decide you are OK with the negative destination that road leads to. Quite frankly, you should not be the least bit surprised when you end up there. Stanley points out that most generally, people don’t have problems that need to be fixed, they have directions that need to be changed.  

Here is the beauty in all of this.  You canchoose good roads. You canchange directions.  You canturn, adjust, and get off one path and on to another. Just as poor path choices take you to undesired destinations, so good path choices take you in the direction of desired destinations.

Couple that with a God who forges us and shapes us and is the master redeemer of our poor choices and there is reason for great hope.  You may be on some wayward roads, but you are never out of the reach of God’s guiding, loving hand.

For he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Prov. 2:8

Live this week on purpose,
Ron Klopfenstein

 (This series was inspired by the book The Principle of the Path, by Andy Stanley)