Rabbit Trails

It's crazy to believe that I haven't posted since last month - granted that was only last week, but still it is crazy to me how time flies.  I've been busy as well as not-so-busy/quite-lazy. I have gotten out of the house a bit - hanging out with new people as well as wandering around. One of the things that I did this past week was to go (on Friday) with a group of people (from the church Joel and I started going to) to Fort Pierce.
Fort Pierce is about an hour 15 min. south of where I live. Our purpose in going there was to start people thinking about their life and what will happen at the end of it. For the past two weeks I have joined in the ministry-evangelism equipping class at the church and therefore we were invited to go out and talk to people and pass out gospel tracts to the crowd gathered for 4th of July celebrations. Very awkward to say the least, but also enlightening.
I learned some things just in interacting with people such as: it's better to question other people's beliefs so they can see the flaws in their religion rather than to correct them and tell them that they are wrong. This allows the Holy Spirit to work more (i think) without our own issues getting in the way and helps us to think about our words and be slow to speak. I had the reason why people go to Hell phrased in a way that instinctually I knew but could not have verbalized previously: People don't go to Hell because they don't believe in Jesus; they go to Hell because they have broken the law and must pay for their sins with Death. BUT God sent his beloved perfect only son to die on the cross and bear our sins - offering Himself and His death to pay for our sins. When we choose to freely accept his gift, choose to trust in him and him alone for salvation and repent from our sins sincerely turning away from our sinful lifestyles, THEN we can go to heaven.

During the class and in preparation for going out in His name, we were warned against rabbit trails. The random trails of conversation that people go down that distract you from your purpose. When you find a rabbit trail, I think you end up getting confused. When you try to counter it, you don't have "proof" that they will believe, but rather they can claim those things in their rabbit trail as their opinion and then you have yours but you have no proof either way. But in the end you are led away from a discussion of important things like how these people need Jesus and toward things that are more inconsequential - sorta like the things denominations split over. Satan likes you to go down rabbit trails.
I think you can find rabbit trails many places - almost everywhere. It's hard to discern whether or not you should follow a rabbit trail or if something really is a rabbit trail. Sometimes you find out before it's too late - like a job that you thought you had that ended up not really being worthwhile. Or sometimes you invest into a rabbit trail and find out it's nature when it actually hurts to try to crawl back out. And when that happens, you really feel like you are crawling because your eye was taken off Jesus and in pursuit of what you thought sounded good you stopped abiding in the one who is good.

Another reason why discernment is needed is because sometimes the things that God wants you to pursue look like rabbit trails. They look absurd or guaranteed to fail. Just think of how many battles God led Israel into when by worldly standards they were far out numbered. For this you have to seek God (Our God who promises an answer when you seek him with all your heart). And you have to listen, which is sometimes hardest to do when you are impatient or worried or overwhelmed and therefore most needed in his wisdom. And waiting for instruction before you start hopping down that trail, definitely is not any easier. Especially when it looks like what popped up in front of you seems so coincidental that you think it had to be from the Hand of God. But it is very worth it to wait on Him and His guidance and direction. It is worth it to pursue His Will over any old rabbit hole that appears before your eyes. Keep your eye on the prize for it is well worth it.