All of us struggle from time to time to find the right answer to the questions we face. What food do I buy at the market? What clothes should I buy and wear? How should I spend my money? What kind of car should I drive? Where should I go to church? You can probably add a few hundred more questions to things you are trying to find answers to.
When I took my Life Coach training a few years ago, the instructor kept telling us that the secret to finding answers to anything was to ask the right questions. We all need a few friends who know how to ask the right questions. Can I give you five questions that will help you grow and change in life?
1. WHO AM I? This question is both simple and complex. It has to do with your identity, not someone else’s. Many people answer that question by stating what they do career wise. Others simply fill in the blank with whatever they feel about themselves. Some will tell you they have no clue who they are. The good news for the person who has accepted Jesus as Savior and is following him is that they are a child of God before they are anything else.
2. WHERE AM I GOING? For a follower of Jesus, the ultimate answer to this question is “I am going to heaven when I die and I will spend eternity with God.” Until you arrive there, this question involves taking a long look at your future, setting some goals, and deciding who you want beside you in your journey as a supportive community.
3. HOW WILL I GET THERE? Again, for the follower of Jesus, the spiritual answer is by living my life following what His word teaches me. On the human side you will need to decide if your vehicle of change will be vocational, educational, geographical etc.
4. WHO WILL HELP ME? First and foremost, the answer is God. After God,
the answer would be another question. What kind of people do I want around me as I move in new directions? Do I need to dump some toxic relationships and replace them with nourishing relationships?
5. AM I WILLING TO TAKE THE RISK? There is no risk when you follow
God and he is in control of your life. Being human though will teach us that
we will still fail at times and succeed at other times.
Mark 10:23 clearly says “If you can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
If this short list of questions does not leave you with more questions, I would be amazed. Just remember, the answers are found in asking the right questions!
–Jim Smoke
