Publisher’s Point by Rob Patz

Where has the summer gone? I’ve already started seeing back-to-school fliers. As a child those were the most depressing of any advertising throughout the year.

I have to be honest … over the last couple of days, I have written and rewritten the Publisher’s Point. It seems like I had no clear answer, no clear direction, of what I should say this month. I know that it is important for me to say exactly what God wants. It’s like choosing the road you have to go on, the right road to get to your destination. That’s what we’re going to talk about in this month’s Publishers Point.

It seems as though I have picked transportation themes over the last few months. We started off in the car behind a tractor. Last month we were on a train. This month, we’re deciding on the road we are going to take.

Life is full of choices. I know that statement isn’t anything new to any of us. I’m sure, since you were a child, you’ve heard your family tell you that life is about the choices you make. That is true. The choices we make today, even this minute as you’re reading this, are the choices that will resonate tomorrow. I know that sounds ominous, but it’s true. Choices we can make not only to follow God in our decisions, but to choose joy in the journey.

I have to be honest with you … there are days when I can’t figure out what road to take. I know I have to make a decision, but at the time, I’m not sure. I truly believe that over time, as Christians, we become more attuned to what God has for us, and those choices and decisions become easier. But even for someone who has been a Christian for a while, there are times where those decisions don’t seem quite as clear.

I think this is where we insert ourselves into the equation. So often, we want to create the road that we believe God will bless, but God never had any intention for us to travel that road. Instead, He has a much better path for us, but we struggle because this is what we want … this is what we’ve desired … this is what we have built up in our minds to be the correct thing.  

Think of all the people that walked with Jesus. They wanted Him to create a kingdom on earth right then. They didn’t want to wait, nor did they really understand the whole scenario. They wanted the instant answer. They didn’t understand the life-saving road that Jesus was taking them on.

So many times in life, I’ve taken the road that I felt was right, but I wonder how many times the road that was paved by God was just one turn away. Yet, I refused in my own stubbornness to stop, to pray, and to seek the direction God was taking me.

Instead, I wanted to go 100 miles an hour on this road that I had paved, and what I believed was what God wanted. All along, just one turn away was a perfectly paved road with happiness, with joy, and with peace that I could’ve easily taken, if I would’ve only stopped and waited for His word.

As Christians, we are to choose God’s road, and ultimately, prayer is the best GPS that we can have. If we seek God’s will, we will know what direction to take.

Join me next month in Vernon Ala., from Sept. 8-9, and of course for the Creekside Gospel Music Convention, from October 30 through Nov. 2, in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

Until next month, this is the Publishers Point.

By Rob Patz

First published by SGNScoops Magazine in August 2017.

For more Gospel Music news click here.

Listen to Gospel music online here.

For the latest edition of SGNScoops Magazine click here.