Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

Unleashed – As You Go – Pray

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” Hebrews 11:8

Dozens of cars hoping to find a quicker route around a crash in Denver last year found themselves in a muddy field, hopelessly stuck because they followed their GPS. After Google Maps suggested an alternative route that would take them off the interstate to bypass the crash. One lady, when interviewed, said, “My thought was, “Well there are all these cars in front of me so it must be OK. So, I just continued.” Upon seeing the road ahead quickly turn into a slick, muddy mess she explained, “That’s when I thought, ‘Oh this was a bad decision.’” There was no turning back once they were in the mud.

I had a similar situation in Kenya, but with a different outcome. Our family was going to attend a worship service in one of the Maasai villages outside of Nairobi.  I knew the road out to the church would be difficult if not dangerous. The difference was that I was following a person who had made the trip hundreds of times. He knew every turn, pothole and ditch going out to the village. It is amazing the difference when you are following someone who knows the way as it allows you to get to your destination.

The same scenario could be said of a lot of people spiritually. It is so often a struggle to decide the right way to go when in fact if I keep my eyes on Jesus, the way forward is less important than the destination. However, I have come to know that if I take my eyes off Jesus, what looks like the smoothest, most direct path of life ends up to be a treacherous road.

Staying focused on Jesus allows us to weather the storms of our lives. You may think that the best way forward may look great but you quickly realize it is the most dangerous way since you are following the wrong direction. As we wrap up another summer season that has been anything but usual, we may feel a little like the drivers in Denver, stuck in the mud.

Unfortunately, millions are out of work because of the pandemic, thousands of shops and business have closed their doors. The anxiety and stress of these days pour out onto the streets of our nation’s cities. Politics is dirtier than ever. Our churches have had to re-imagine how best to minister to people. Our schools have struggled to find new ways to educate our children.

Yet our hope is not in the ugly events of the day, but in Jesus. The road may be filled with obstacles but in Jesus we have a shepherd who guards his flock, a friend who understands our needs, and a Savior who has given us life.

Oswald Chambers, in one of his devotional thoughts, said, “A river is victoriously persistent, it overcomes all barriers. For a while it goes steadily on its course, then it comes to an obstacle and for a while it is balked, but it soon makes a pathway round the obstacle. Or a river will drop out of sight for miles, and presently emerge again broader and grander than ever. You can see God using some lives, but into your life an obstacle has come and you do not seem to be of any use. Keep paying attention to the Source, and God will either take you round the obstacle or remove it. The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never get your eyes on the obstacle or on the difficult. The obstacle is a matter of indifference to the river, which will flow steadily through you if you remember to keep right at the Source. Never allow anything to come between yourself and Jesus Christ, no emotion, or experience; nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source.”

The traffic anchor for KMGH Denver said of the GPS induced wrong turn, “You are driving. Google Maps is not driving. Google Maps is not perfect. You need to know where you are going and, if it does not look like that’s where you should be going, turn around and try again.”

Good advice for drivers, but also a good reminder for us spiritually. The world has much to say about which road to take but turn around because it will take you where you don’t want to go. The way Jesus leads will bring us home safely.

God is great,

Pastor Lynn