The end of the year is an opportunity to assess our lives and ministry. Understanding our temporal nature will help us set our priorities straight and focus on endeavors with eternal consequences. Moses understood that when he prayed, “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Ps. 90:12).1
As we close this year, we should ask ourselves: How did God lead us this year? How will our ministry next year impact other people’s lives for eternity? Did we allow God to shape our ministry this year? How will we improve, and what will we do differently next year?
I believe that trusting God and letting Him shape our lives and fashion our ministry is the best way to accomplish our mission on earth and fulfill His purpose. Doing so will require that we trust in Him. Here, I present three areas in which to place our trust in Him: to lead us, to shape us, and to direct us.
Trust God to lead us
Years ago, when our children were still young and being homeschooled, my wife and I enjoyed taking them on educational trips and museums all over the country. One day, I announced that we were going to visit the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, about a 20-hour drive from where we lived in Massachusetts.
The children’s eyes sparkled with curiosity and excitement, even though they had never been there before. All they knew was that they were going to Florida. They had cousins there and trusted their parents’ ability to understand the roadmap and reach the destination safely. With hearts brimming with anticipation, we prayed together, got into the car, and drove into what was, for them, the unknown.
Proverbs 3:5, 6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” As God’s children, we, too, journey through life’s mysteries, often unaware of the destination. But our trust in the Lord shapes our path and guides us forward.
Trust God to shape us
In Jeremiah 18, God sent the prophet Jeremiah to the potter’s house to teach him an important lesson. As he watched the potter shape and form the clay, the Lord said, “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter? . . . Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!” (Jer. 18:6, NKJV). As ministers of the gospel, we need to remember that, ultimately, we are not in charge of our own lives. We are tools in the hands of God, the Master Potter.
Our role is to submit to God’s will, purpose, and mission for our lives. Ellen White commented, “The great Master Worker desires to mold and fashion us. And as the clay is in the hands of the potter, so are we to be in His hands. We are not to try to do the work of the potter. Our part is to yield ourselves to the molding of the Master Worker.”2
Trust God to direct us
Just as parents lead their children and help shape their lives, our heavenly Father directs our steps. Psalm 37:23 assures us: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.” Our delight in God aligns our footsteps with His divine purpose. We may stumble, but He steadies us. At times we may miss a turn, but He recalibrates our path. When we relinquish control and surrender to His guidance and divine will, we find comfort. The twists and turns of life become part of a grander purpose. Our trust in His wisdom transforms uncertainty into adventure. We become like little children, holding God’s hand, knowing that every step is assured and purposeful.
Centuries ago, wise men followed a star that led to their destination. As we close this year and enter a new chapter of our journey through life, may we follow the Star of Bethlehem and let God lead, shape, and direct us to our destination.
- Unless otherwise noted, Scripture is from the King James Version.
- Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8 (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1904), 187.
