Stay On Your Path In Life

Introduction

one of the safest ways to live your life is to stay on your God-ordained path. Bishop David Oyedepo said, “No one shines where he is not sent, and no one shines doing what he is not sent.” I have discovered from scriptures that every man has his God-ordained path in life. Prophetically, “thy feet” in scriptures simply means your God-ordained path in life.

The Lord, speaking to Ezekiel, advised him to stand upon his feet, which means to stay on your God-ordained path. It pays to abide in your calling, and it also costs to deviate from your path in life. My prayer is that as you go through this little book, you will gain insight into your path in life and be supernaturally helped to stand on it.

Your Feet; Your Part of Life

Several months ago, while studying John 13 on feet washing, a question struck my mind: Why wash the feet? What do the feet represent? I know some words in scripture are used prophetically to illustrate deep concepts. For example, loins or the waist region often refer to inheritances. As I delved deeper into studying and meditating on what the feet symbolize in scripture, I discovered that the feet represent one's goings in life.

Romans 10:15 says, "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel..." This suggests that ministering the gospel is a beautiful and enviable task. Another illustration is Mary, who always sat at the feet of Jesus, meaning she always attended His meetings to hear His words. Dr. Luke, in his account, said Mary "stood at his (Jesus') feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment" (Luke 7:37-38). Interpreting this prophetically, "washing his feet with tears" means she prayed for His ministry.

In a nutshell, this verse symbolizes her great support for His ministry. Later, in chapter 8, Dr. Luke talks about Jesus going about His ministry with the twelve and certain women and "many others, which ministered unto him of their substance,” and among them was Mary (Luke 8:1-3). He also shares Jesus' words to Simon, saying that Simon had not washed His feet, kissed, or anointed them (Luke 7:44-46).

Therefore, the feet symbolize one's goings or ways in life. King Solomon, in his catalogue of wisdom, says, "Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established" (Proverbs 4:26). Not all paths or ways of life are good. Proverbs 5:5 speaks of the strange woman: "Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell." This means not all ways are good, but there is a path God has ordained for everyone to walk in. Psalms 16:11 calls it "the path of life."

This is what the Lord said to Ezekiel the prophet in Ezekiel 2:1-2: "And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee." Lying down, the prophet could hear Him perfectly, but there are some things you may never hear from God until you stand upon your God-ordained path in life. Notice He said, "thy feet," meaning your path of life. It was so prophetic that it took the Spirit of God to set him on his feet because it takes the empowerment of the Spirit to stand and walk in your God-designed path of life.

Friend, if the Lord has revealed to you that your path in life is ministry, then He expects you to stand upon your feet.

Standing Upon Your Feet

Ezekiel 2:1

[1] "And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee."

We have seen that feet in scripture prophetically signify your ways or goings in life, and they also represent your God-ordained path in life. Here, the Lord tells the prophet Ezekiel to "stand upon thy feet," meaning to stay on the path where God has called you. Paul said, "If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward" (Ephesians 3:2). Grace here means the plan and purpose of God. Paul talks about his portion in the plan entrusted to him by God, his path (feet) in the race of life.

Yes, this is what the Lord was talking about in Ezekiel 2:1-2, standing on your own feet in the race of life, staying in your specific race that God has ordained. You see, Paul said, "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1), not the race set before another. Standing on your feet means staying in your lane of calling.

The summary of it all is in 1 Corinthians 7:20: "Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called." Many of us called into the ministry seem to want to do something just because others are doing it. "Oh, they are doing this over there, let's do that." My friend, did God call you to do it? Bishop David Oyedepo said, "Destiny is a one-on-one race." It pays to "stand upon your feet." Let's see some of the benefits of standing upon your feet:

• The Supernatural Power of God: Jesus preached in Nazareth, but He could not do mighty works there. He attributed this to the lack of faith in the people and that He was not sent to them (Luke 4:25-26). The anointing of God manifests in the place where you are sent. No wonder when Ezekiel resolved to stand in his place of calling, the anointing of God was available to him there. Standing on your feet ensures that you walk in the supernatural ability of God because God sends and empowers men to fulfil their specific assignment. Acts 4:33 says, "And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all." The apostles witnessed great power because of great grace, which is the plan of God. Meaning that because of the great plan of God upon the lives of the apostles, the Lord made great power available for them to fulfil it.

• The Word of God Prospers: Isaiah 55:11 says, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth...and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." The word of God you are sent to preach will only prevail in the place and the way God asked you to do it. Some are sent to teach, while they are busy preaching! The story of Jonah is a fine example of one who saw the disadvantage of not standing on his feet. He left Nineveh, the city the Lord sent him to preach in, and was on his way to Tarshish. Although he was a prophet, the men on the boat with him threw him out of the ship to save themselves, and he ended up in the belly of the fish (Jonah 1:1-17). You and the message you were sent to preach would be thrown out or rejected if you are not in the place you were sent to preach, which is your feet. Even the manner of delivery determines whether you prosper or not. Note that the fact Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world," does not permit you to preach everywhere. Acts 16:6 says that Paul and his ministry crew "were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia." The word of God will always prosper in the place and in the way it was sent, and that is in your feet. Your path in life is that good ground that permits the Word to produce in different folds.

• Supernatural Supplies: Matthew 10:5, 9-10 says, "These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat." He specifically told them where to go and said that if they would go where they were sent, they are worthy of their pay! Friend, stand upon your feet. Abiding in the calling with which you were called guarantees your pay in ministry. I once heard Bishop David Oyedepo tell a story that shocked me and taught me more about the character of Jesus. He said that the Lord had instructed them to undergo a new church construction, and so they obeyed and started, but he noticed the project was not progressing as it should because the money was not flowing in. So he went to the Lord in prayer, and the Lord told him the reason was that the building plan was not His plan. He wanted a D-shaped building, and they were doing something else. I was shocked. "Ah, so just because of that, He withdrew the flow of divine supplies?" You see, the Lord cares about details. Notice He specified the places the disciples were to preach and when they came back, He asked them, "When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye anything?" They said, "Nothing" (Luke 22:35). Therefore, the finances of God will flow if we stand upon our feet.

My mentor, Kenneth Copeland, often tells the story of how the Lord sent him to Oral Roberts University. He was about 30 years old, the oldest freshman, as he would say. He did not have a job, and here he was sent by God to school. So he told his wife that he was going into a room in their house to inquire of the Lord and would not come out until he heard from God. Sure enough, the Lord spoke to him as he remained still to listen. The Lord told him not to worry, that He had sent him there and would take care of him. The next day, Kenneth Copeland went to school to register, and the cashier was filling out the tuition and books fee for him. He still had no idea where the money was going to come from, so he called his father. To his surprise, his father said he had been looking for him because someone had sown a seed into his ministry and he had paid the money into his account. Some minutes later, as he was excitedly leaving the premises, one of his feet stuck to the ground, and he could not move.

He asked the Lord what was happening, and the Lord told him to go back to the school building. When he got there, by inspiration, he told the secretary that he was a commercially rated pilot and needed all the help he could get since Oral Roberts' ministry had an airplane. As he turned to leave, he found that Oral Roberts was standing right behind him. Oral Roberts said that a few days ago, he had started to hire a new co-pilot, and the Spirit of the Lord told him that a student was coming, and he wanted him to have the job. This was how Kenneth Copeland paid his fees and got a job on the same day.

Friend, doing the things that God asked you to do and abiding in the calling or mission guarantees supernatural supplies. I have found that the Kingdom is indeed as Bishop David Oyedepo said: “No one shines where he is not sent, and no one shines doing what he is not sent.”

Discovering Your Path in Life

Now that we have seen the benefits of staying on your God-ordained path in life, let’s look at ways to discover your path in life.

1. The Prayer of Enquiry

I once said that God is more eager to show you His plan for your life than you are eager to know it, but it is understandable that “ye have not, because ye ask not” (James 4:2). Every genuine question is entitled to an answer. Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you…for every one that asketh receiveth” (Matthew 7:7-8). Therefore, you can go to the Lord in prayer asking for your God-ordained feet in life. Let me give you the advice of James, it would help you in your quest for answers:

James 1:5-8 [5] If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. [6] But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. [7] For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. [8] A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Faith is a biblical requirement for answered prayers. Asking the Lord sincere questions in faith guarantees answers. From today, I see you accessing your God-ordained path in life!

2. A Diligent Search

God's plan for every man’s life is in His word (Isaiah 29:11). The Psalmist speaking said, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy" (Psalms 16:11), so your feet in life is a thing to be shown, and one of the ways to see it is through a diligent search in Scriptures.

They asked John the Baptist a question, "Who art thou?" and unlike most of us, his answer was rather stunning; he said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness..." (John 1:22-23). Notice it was stated clearly that “…It is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness…”.

That shows that everyone has something written concerning them in the Scriptures because the least in this Kingdom is greater than John the Baptist. However, it takes a diligent search in the Scriptures to find your path in life. The counsel of the prophet Jeremiah about searching gives us an insight into how best it is engaged to obtain results:

Jeremiah 29:13 [13] And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Luke 15:8 [8] Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?

So, engage in a wholehearted search, diligently. It’s in His word. I pray that you would not miss your place in destiny due to sluggishness.

3. Be on the Watch

The Bible tells us to watch and pray. God speaks to our spirit primarily through His word and secondarily through visions and dreams. There are three places to watch while praying:

• Watch out for your dreams

The Apostle Paul was going about his mission seeking where he would spread the message, but he was forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach in certain places. Then one day, Paul had a dream that opened up a door of ministry to him and his team (Acts 16:6-10).

• Watch out for passion

Philippians 2:13 [13] For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Some positive passions you have are pointers to your God-ordained path in life.

• Watch within yourself

God has placed in every man a special gift; there are some things you are really good at doing. Remember, it was the music that David played that led him to the palace. These are all pointers to your path in life. I see you accessing your God-ordained feet in life and standing there.

Remain Blessed

Jesus Is Lord!

Min. Roi