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Anxious About the Future? Don’t Know Every Detail? That’s Good!
Discussion and Devotional Thought of the Day:
24 The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way? Proverbs 20:24 (NLT)
The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Psalm 23:1-3 (NLT)
I talked to you about the horizon which opens up before our eyes and of the road we have to follow. I have no objections, you said, as if surprised at not having any. Engrave this deeply on your mind: there is no reason why there should be!! (1)
Picture a couple in love, walking through a park together, enjoying each other. They might laugh at that squirrel, or be amazed at the flowers and the beauty of the water which sings in the creek, as it too travels to the pond on the other side of the park. The might even forget where they are, as they enjoy each other, as they learn about each other, as they share in the love they have. They live in the moment. There is a growing trust, growing discovery and revelation of life.
And they know the destination when they get there…. as the sit on the rock, as the young man asks the question that they both know is coming…..will you share my life, will you let me share yours?
Unsure of the future? They aren’t even looking past this moment. The joy of each other’s presence is too overwhelming
God knows the future, much more than the young man and woman. He directs the steps, knowing the beauty we will encounter, and the times when we will stumble. We walk with Him, our Shepherd,
Yes, we inherently trust Him for our salvation, but what we are saved to is a life, a relationship where that trust infects every other part of our life. As He reveals Himself, as we explore and know the height, depth, width and breadth of God’s love for us in Christ,
That means we aren’t going to know every step, we won’t understand this time or that, We may not want to take the time to rest and pause, we want to fight for control. We can’t know all the details, any more than the prophets or apostles did. We need to grow to where we don’t raise objections to the horizon, we need to accept the road, not because it is the road….
But because we trust the Shepherd who will lead us along the right roads, who walks with us.
How do we do this?
Spend time with Him, realize His presence, meditate on and rejoice in the promises that are sure in Christ……
It’s not about having every detail planned out, about preparing for every contingency, this life of those baptized and who walk with Christ.
It’s like the journey along the paths of the park- where a young couple are amazed at the love, at the growing bond between them. Where they realize their long for love is there. It’s like that, as we, the bride of Christ, walk with Him.
So enjoy, as the beauty of His creation unfolds before you!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 2399-2402). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Tuesday Morning and all Creation groans!
Devotional Discussion thought of the day!
You wake up, role over, hit the snooze alarm, and get out of bed to creaks and groans – not just you voice, but it seems the muscles groan as well… It’s Tuesday, and you wonder how your body will make it to Friday – you body know this as well – why do you think it groans and aches and cracks and creeks!
It’s not always just physical either – if Monday slams home the (false) reality that breaks our restful break from life that is Sunday…Tuesday makes us wonder if we’ll make it to our next sabbath rest! Tuesdays, especially overcast ones like this morning.. ugghhh will this week drag on! It seems like all of Creation is groaning – and yes it is…. so says Paul!
8:20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. Romans 8:20-23 (NLT)
The futility we know is just physical, as I noted above – in some ways it is very spiritual. How do we survive? I believe it is as we are reminded by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit – as we are giving foretastes of our future glory, as we are awakened from spiritual slumber and see the glory of God revealed.
One of my favorite authors speaks of such:
” The world is waiting for us to wake up those who are asleep, to encourage the timid, to guide those who have lost their way; in other words, for us to enroll them in the ranks of Christ….. (Escriva, Josemaria . Furrow )
If we need a reminder of the glory that awaits us, such is easily seen as people are woken up, as they are freed from the burdens of their own sin, as they are healed from the sins committed against them, as they too learn to forgive. As they realize they are welcome in the presence of God, as God comes to them and makes them part of His family.
The joy of that moment – that rebirth and renewal as they are baptized (TIt 3:2-6) that moment when they realize the promises of Christ are theirs – as they realize that He does come to them and sups with them… such are the foretastes of glory, as the Spirit reminds us…”you are mine…”
And Tuesdays, we realize, are as full of mercy and grace.. and His resting/basquing in His love… as Sundays…
Godspeed you through this week!
