Each person’s faith walk is unique. A person can go in a direction opposite his peer, yet both be in the will of God (the destiny/ purpose God has for His people).

So how can you truly know the faith walk of another? How do you judge your own?  The bible admonishes us not to judge anything prematurely (See 1Cor. 4:5).

Unless the Lord reveals it, you don’t know if a person is truly walking in the will of God. You cannot know a person’s end by judging their beginning; you can only presume. You must wait and see.

We hastily judge each other. When someone is going through trials, we are quick to jump to conclusions about them. We shake our heads and wag our fingers, pointing out actions or decisions they made that (we believe) caused their distress. That person deserves what they’re going through because we disapprove of their actions. Meanwhile, the person we approve of gets the thumbs up. We can see why they are blessed; he/she is an honorable person, doing the right thing.

But God, with His mysterious ways, makes fools out of all of us. He often rejects what we approve. Praises what we denounce.

How the Faith Walk Appears

Walking by faith is personal and a bit lonely. It is a choice, a lifestyle that, at times, makes no sense, neither to the person walking nor their spectators. They appear to be journeying away from destiny instead of toward it. And they seem to lose more than they gain. But despite what it looks like, even to the faith-walker, they press on believing God will order their steps and get them where they need to be.

So, a person is not necessarily a “sinner” because he/she goes to prison or is diagnosed with cancer. They may not be outside the will of God because they got divorced or filed for bankruptcy. Just because a storm destroys a family’s house doesn’t mean God is angry with them. Likewise, a person prosperous with a home seemingly intact isn’t necessarily walking in the will of God.

We must learn to be more patient with ourselves and one another. God is faithful, He reveals all things in time. It behooves us to pay attention, so we hear when He speaks and see when He lifts the veil. Not just for us to accurately judge the lives of our brothers and sisters, but our own.

— D.L. Lunsford