Reflections on Life and Spirituality 101

Thoughts on transitioning from student life to working

Some of us are waiting to walk into a new road in our lives, some of us already have. After weathering the so called times and seasons of student life, what lies before you is a new place, a land unknown to you, where the terrain is once again unfamiliar. At this juncture, you enter your chosen field of work. It is a land, which in many ways, resembles a free-trade zone. In this place, the message that traders are bringing to you : The sky is the limit for you here. You are limited by only your own boundaries. It is a land where traders of every race and background gather around, day in day out, almost like clockwork, hoping to find their dreams. You are thinking... I am entering this market, after a few years of learning my chosen trade. Is this what it comes down to? What lies ahead? What are people's expectations of me? My parents, my peers, my friends... What expectations do I hold for myself in this new and foreign land? How will this affect my walk with God?

A friend once told me this: Guard your heart when you are out there. This is especially true in matters pertaining to our faith in the Lord. Because some people will belittle your faith, in many ways not directly. This will come in the form of what people say, how people act in their passion for a cause they are pursuing : a burning ambition to run after their careers, chasing a dream of making it big and striving after recognition. Yes, you will discover that in this so-called market, you are offered varied opportunities, abundant dreams. There are many roads to take and plenty of choices to make. You look around - traders are running about. They're busy - each diligently doing their own thing, some of whom are reaching the skies, well on the way to getting what they set out to achieve. They're occupied - plenty to do, so many causes to believe in. You look around, and you are confused... everybody seems to know what they are doing, where they are heading. In this confusion, you are sometimes made to think and feel as if there is so much more out there than your commitment to Christ, so many other things that seem to be more pressing, more significant...

But take heed and do not let anyone make light or cheapen your commitment to the Lord. Psalm 23:23 (KJV) says, "Buy the truth and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding". No compromises. Don't let anybody make you feel as if your life in God is not so important. And the very reason, by man's own wisdom and reasoning, is that there are more tangible, immediate and practical concerns to be lived out in this lifetime. We may not say it but beware lest the heart believes it. Logical reasons, clever rationalizations, many choices. But be careful because "there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death" Ps 14:12 (KJV). Protect your life. Guard your heart. Remember that we are talking about compromise here. Not about being cold. The word is compromise - lukewarm. Beware of the first step in reflecting that maybe, just maybe, there are more important things besides Him. That's all it takes. If we don't make a resolute spirit to stand firm in the Lord always, we will sway. The worst thing about it is that the Lord's presence has departed from us and we did not know it.

So guard your heart. It begins with a conscious fear that we will somehow, one day, not know how to listen to His voice, a fear that if one day, we ask ourselves what happened, we can only turn away in shame... It begins when our will is determined to stand on God's righteous foundations, His promises in His Word. It may take us a lifetime for us to learn to love Him as He has called us to. It is not going to be easy but like many other things, He furnishes the rest because He is our keeper and He carries us, through our hills and valleys and across deserts and oceans.

"In the fear of the Lord, there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge" Ps 14:26(KJV)

So guard your heart. Guard it with your life.

Labels: Significance / Life Purpose, Spiritual Direction / Guidance