Know Where You’re Going?

The other day I went out to run some errands and also bring a book to a friend and stop in to chat for a while.  So I ran my first errand and then started on my way to my friend’s home.  A home, by the way, that I had not been to yet.  Then I realized something.  I didn’t have her address.  I called her, but reached her answering machine.  I knew that she was home and I had an idea of where she lived so I continued, hoping that she would call me soon and tell me her address.

Later I realized how much like following God that is.  We don’t always know exactly where we’re going, but as we spend time with God we will be able to follow His leading and have some idea of where He wants us to go or what He wants us to do.  So we keep moving.

When I was near my friend’s home the call came.  And I’m very thankful for having the hands-free cell phone capability in my car!  My friend gave me directions while I drove right to her driveway.  And there she was waiting for me.

My friend showed up at just the right time.  Just like God does.  At just the right moment,  God shows us exactly where we’re going.

I guess the only difference is that my directions from my friend came within a matter of minutes, but with God it can take days, months or even years.  But one thing is for sure.  God knows exactly where He wants us to go or what He wants us to do and as we follow Him, He will show us.

Jesus spoke the parable of the Good Shepherd in John 10:1-5:  “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the gatekeeper opens.  The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers,” (ESV).

If you have believed in Jesus as your Savior, then you can listen to His voice as He leads you.  Let’s keep following Him – even when we don’t know where we’re going!

I like music so here’s the song “Help Me Find It” by Sidewalk Prophets.

Just Like Daddy

I came across one of the cutest pictures.  You can see it here.  It’s a picture of my brother wearing Daddy’s shoes before I was born.  It reminds me of the pictures that I have of my own kids stepping into my shoes or my husband’s shoes and trying to walk around.  Trying to be like Mommy or Daddy.

One of my husband’s parents’ favorite stories to tell over and over is about the day that one of my sons visited them and very proudly showed them the belt that he was wearing.  It was just like Daddy’s belt and he wanted everyone to see that he was like his Daddy.

I’m sure you can think about times when kids that you know have done the same thing.  They’ve tried to imitate their Daddy.  Which makes me wonder.  Do we still want to be like Daddy?  Not our earthly Daddy, but our Heavenly Father.  Do we want to imitate Him?

Ephesians 5:1 says, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,” (NASB).  That verse makes me think of this picture of my brother, a child loved by his parents and desiring to imitate his Daddy by walking in his shoes.  What if we still did that today?  Or maybe the better question is, How can we still do that today?  Verse 2 says to “walk in love,” verses 8-10 say, “…walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.”  There is a lot more in this chapter of Ephesians about how to walk and how not to walk, but I like these verses because they remind me of my children walking in shoes that – even thought they were too big for them – they were so happy to try.  Maybe imitating God feels like we’re walking in shoes that are too big for us, but we are called to try anyway.  And the best thing is, we don’t have to do it on our own.  God is right here with us all the time.

So how are you doing at imitating your Daddy today?  I think our Heavenly Father looks on us with delight when we do, in the same way that we delight in our kids when they try to imitate us.  We’re so pleased that we take pictures and save them for years.  God doesn’t need to take pictures, but I’m sure He is pleased when He sees His beloved children walking in His ways and imitating their Daddy.

Literally Speaking

This cartoon from the newspaper is a fun reminder that younger kids are literal thinkers – a good thing to remember when we teach them!

This also made me laugh.  One of the teens that was teaching kids in my backyard this summer said that Jesus was reigning in Heaven, which is true, but as soon as he said that I imagined lots of little children trying to picture in their minds how Jesus was “raining.”  Then one child shouted out, “Raining?!”  It was so cute!  And a good reminder to think about how children understand our words.

Roller Coaster Faith

This summer my family and I spent some time at an amusement park.  As I waited in line for the roller coasters I watched each group of people get into their seats, buckle their seat belts, hold onto their shoulder bars and then leave.  They always came back safely inside their seat.

Each time that it came to my turn to buckle myself in, I realized that we put a lot of faith in those seat belts and roller coasters.  Yet sometimes we hear about roller coasters stopping upside down and firemen coming to help the people safely to the ground.  I don’t really want to be left hanging upside down for half an hour.  But I still ride roller coasters because I trust them to work properly.

As I waited in line for another ride, “The Detonator,” I noticed a seat that was blocked off with an “out of order” sign so that no one would sit in it.  And I was glad that I was not the one to find out that that particular seat was not working properly.  When it was my turn I still trusted my seat to hold me in as it rapidly propelled me up into the sky and then quickly pulled me back down again, repeatedly.

Here’s the thing.  We put all of our trust in those rides.  The roller coasters that twist and turn you upside down and pull you high into the sky just to quickly drop you and then do it all over again.  And all those other crazy, but very fun rides.  We trust them, knowing in the back of our minds that sometimes they don’t work.

Then we don’t trust God.  He is the one who made us, loves us, always keeps His promises and never leaves us hanging upside down until someone else can help us.  He never has an “out of order” sign.  He is always there, waiting for us to come to Him and trust Him.

Each day I want to choose to trust God who has proven Himself to be trustworthy over and over again.  He even said this, “…I have chosen you and have not rejected you.  So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand,” (Isaiah 41: 9b-10 NIV).  Now that is something we can put our faith in.

* Thank you to my friend, Jenifer, for listening to me share about my roller coaster adventures and inspiring and encouraging me to write this post.  I appreciate you, Jenifer!