Wandering

As I watch the snow pile up outside my window, I am reminded about how people can get off track.  When you think about it, we are humans making many mistakes and capable of wandering far.

I’ve been on roads in snowstorms and sandstorms that were so blinding that I literally had to stop my car because I could no longer see my way on the road.

A few years ago, my family was enjoying a summer gathering at my brother’s house.  We adults were enjoying time together when all of a sudden my niece looks over at her husband and asks where their youngest daughter is. I guess they each thought the other was looking after her but now realized that she was not visibly in the yard.

We found their daughter (she was perhaps 4 years old at the time) wandering down the neighborhood street totally oblivious that each step was taking her further and further away from the safety of her family.  She had no idea that she had wandered off from her safety net and would soon become surrounded by unfamiliar landmarks and possible danger.

I am reading through the Bible in one year and I’m now in the Book of Numbers. In Numbers we learn that we’re saved to serve our God.  But the children of Israel, as they wandered, didn’t have a GPS system or even a trail where others had gone.

Which isn’t a whole lot different than our life as a Christian today... Aren’t we also passing through a trackless desert—through a moral wilderness? We have no trail either. But we do have one little sentence from the lips of the Lord, “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life,…” (John 14:6a).  God is our way, our GPS system. Step by step God will guide us just as He did the children of Israel.

But you say: 'He isn’t physically here with us like He was in the desert with the Israelites; guiding them each step into the Promised Land.'

Yes, He is!

We have the Bible – God’s Word that gives us a road map for how to live our lives.
We have the Holy Spirit – the One that Comforts and Guides us in making our way.
We have the High Priest – Christ Jesus, living right within us, for those who accept Him.
We have the church – where we can worship, fellowship with other Christians and learn from and support each other.

Without using these heavenly attendants and guides, we are just like my little niece who wandered down a neighborhood street. Little by little, we get off track; we become oblivious to the dangers waiting for us around the corner. We no longer have our moral compass with us, so sin begins to creep into our lives and like the story of the frog in the water, that doesn’t realize he is about to be boiled, we’re lost, don’t know how to get out of a bad situation and can’t remember our way home.

May I suggest that if this describes you today; if you are feeling lost and unsure of what’s ahead of you; please ask for help. I know the feeling of being lost.  Many times, I’ve wandered in my own strength.  You don’t have to move from your seat. You can ask for help right there in front of your computer screen. Say, ‘Lord, I need Your help right now. I need You to take over my life and guide me out of this wilderness that I’ve found myself in. I need You to be my GPS.’

God is much stronger; more capable and has already set a path for you to follow. He's walked the trail, knows the pitfalls and wants you to take His hand. When I was a little girl, I remember how secure I felt when my hand was clenched onto my daddy's bigger hand.  It's the same feeling when you take God's hand. Don’t let fear keep you from enjoying all that God wants to give you, starting right now!

Until next time~

Blessings, Nancy