DEVOTION / I did it my way!
The other day, I was stuck humming the classic I Did It My Way.
The lyrics
I googled the lyrics. The song is the story of a person facing their final curtain and looking back at their life and proclaiming not in a shy way: I did it (my life) my way!
The closing chorus goes...
For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way, yes, it was my way!
The message
As Christians, wouldn't it be much more appropriate to sing: I did it God's way!
Our Lord cautions us that our natural sinful inclinations often lead us to want to do things our way. But, clearly, our way and God's way don't usually match.
The Bible is filled with examples.
Adam & Eve
Cain & Abel
The Tower of Babel
Ahab & Jezebel
Judas
Ananias & Sapphira
All of these people — and many others — could proudly proclaim, I did it my way. They could not confess, I did it God's way. The results for them were disastrous.
The solution
God's good news is that there is a better way — his way.
Psalm 25:8-10 reveals, The LORD is good and glad to teach the proper path to all who go astray; he will teach the ways that are right and best to those who humbly turn to him. And when we obey him, every path he guides us on is fragrant with his loving-kindness and his truth (TLB).
We have the good news to treasure that our Lord Jesus has blazed the perfect path to eternal life for us. By trusting him — the one who is the way, the truth, and the life — no soul will ever have to come to their final curtain with the false hope that it was enough that they did it their way.
Prayer
Lord, how easy to think that our ways are the right ways. We are easily deluded and go astray. Show us your way and keep us on the right path. Help us to live our lives "your way" and proclaim that to others.
316NOW realizes that billions of souls in our world are trying to do things their way. It is a path that leads to eternal separation from God. We are overjoyed to have the privilege of introducing them to the better way — God’s way.