The Long and Winding Road
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Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
Micah 6:8
He hath shewed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
I read these passages considering my own path in life and the numerous twists, curves and u-turns I’ve made in my life. God’s grace was surely with me as I navigated the journey. His grace is the only explanation for how I am able to even know scripture at all, to understand a small portion of its meaning and to examine my life through the lens of the Bible.
God has truly showed us what is good. He also has told man – that includes us – ad infinitum that if we will trust Him, we will make our path straight. Um, I don’t know about you, but I think I’ve been exposed! The harsh glare of the truth is never pleasant, but thinking of an eternity apart from God is even worse. That’s why we are to attempt to live out the instructions of Micah.
I admit freely, though with great remorse and even downright shame, that I have not relied upon God often enough or sincerely enough in my life. Even in the last decade and a half, when I claim to have come to know Christ, I have wandered off course more times than I can count.
Again, my own life and my testimony are evidence of God’s mercy and grace. Human tendency is to act, respond, move, do something! I tend to be more Type A than anything else which means I tend am likely rush in, take over, and “get it done.” This tendency applies to business situations, volunteer leadership roles, and especially in my personal life. Rather than allow God to reveal the “straight path” to me, I chart my own course. That’s often when the doubling back occurs.
The world can seem so out of control and our lives can be so busy and overwhelming it is easy to forget that God’s got it all covered! If we will take a few minutes out of our exhaustingly frantic lives, He will remind us of that truth and show us the straight path to the peace which surpasses understanding.
My prayer today is that you will turn over one decision, one task, one activity to God’s direction and control. And that you trust in God with all your heart that He will walk with you all your days.
Mary
Labels: life, trust, understanding
The War is Real. The Victory is Certain
Psalm 42:1-2
1. [For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah]. As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O God. 2. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?
This passage pretty aptly defines my own longing for God and the only solution I have found to remain positive and quiet within myself. In this case, David is feeling alone and adrift, assailed by enemies, both verbally and physically. Actually David spent a great deal of his life running from the enemy, fighting the enemy and/or dealing with the aftermath of confronting the enemy. While most of us don’t wage war against our enemies in the physical world, we are in a battle each every day.
The war is real. Evil exists and is thriving and it has since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and Cain murdered Abel. If you doubt we fight a war against the evil one think about how often in any day you participate in gossip, tell a lie, curse a driver who cuts you off or do something your boss has instructed you to do, even though you know it’s unethical. If more convincing is required, listen to the news tonight and then sit and watch the prime time television programming until you fall asleep.
Still more convincing may be necessary. Explain that feeling of disquiet and sense of being unsettled in your soul. Can you figure why you’re just plain angry at the world and everyone in it, especially those in your life – your family, friends (if you have any), coworkers – the world! Why are you so sad so often? Why do you have indigestion, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue? Why are just plain unable to get up and go out into the world with your confidence intact and your heart on your sleeve?
The answer to our life problems is not found in a gym, on the golf course, at the water cooler at work, on the internet, through homeopathic medicine, astrology or alternative anything. There is one answer, and only one. David knew that: As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O God. He has suffered an astounding defeat prior to writing these words. Yet another of the many earthly wars he fought ended in defeat and he was beyond discouraged.
Life is hard. If we allow that truth to rule us, we will spend our lives very sad and alone and lost. God is good. We long for Him, yet we seek out everything else. I use both the editorial “we” as well as the all-inclusive (meaning I’m included) “we.” Life is hard but God is good. Long for him; thirst for him; run to him. Rest in Him. David looked around the battlefield and surely crumpled into a heap on the ground. He surveyed the unspeakable loss of life and certainly had to felt defeated and alone; as if he had let down his people and failed to be the kind of leader he wanted to be. Probably he was bewildered at the defeat because he was God’s warrior.
He didn’t retreat in anger and bitterness, though. He offered up his defeat to God. He recommitted his life to God. Life is hard. God is good. David longed for him. He opened his parched lips, prostrated himself and called out to his God.
My prayer today is that no matter what battle you are fighting against the evil in the world, you will remember that God is always victorious. And that you call out to God, running to Him with all your strength and speed, for the days are evil.
Mary
Labels: angry, evil, God, health, life, sin, war
