Thank you for your prayers this past weekend. Jo and I had an uneventful trip (which is a good thing) to Ohio. We visited her sister in the nursing home (and sadly, she was foggy on who we were). We also had a chance to spend time with Janna and her friend, Mike, and watch Braden play a game on Saturday morning and have lunch with him before heading home. The really good thing was that there was no traffic tie-ups this trip. Yah!!
Now…back to the old grind. 🙂
In my last devotion on The Trail (August 17), I wrote about giving up control. It’s not easy to do so. To trust in the dark is sometimes a scary proposition.
Take for instance…following. It is much easier to follow when the trail is clearly marked. Have you ever prayed or wished God would just sort of put it in neon lights the direction He wants you to go in? GO HERE!! I have, and seldom has it ever been that way. Least not to the naked eye. There’s an old saying I’m sure you have heard or even used: “God never closes a door (or window) without opening another one.” While that may be true, I don’t often see that open door or window that clearly.
So how do I know which way to go? I’m going to quote from the book:
Once God has my heart {i.e. relationship}, I’ll be receptive to His guidance, and He know I’ll choose His will. His specific will for me hasn’t changed, but my heart has changed.
I think the key is that last phrase I underlined. To follow God’s will requires a willingness on my part to do what He says and go where He says to go. That often requires a heart change.
One of the lessons from the book is one I have agreed with for years. The most important thing I can do is be in relationship with God. After 49+ years of marriage, I’m still in love with Jo and I still want to please her and make her happy. Sometimes grudgingly, if I’m honest, but it is still my motivation). 🙂
It’s not a matter of whether God guides me. He does. It’s a matter of whether I can see His trail. That becomes clearer as I stand in relationship with Him.
First order of business: KNOW HIM.
Amen, Bill! Hallelujah!
Thanks Diane.
Bill,
Glad you made it home safely and that the trip was uneventful in a good way. I am learning as well that God desires our relationship above all else. Sure he wants our obedience, but that is secondary and really just a response of the relationship. The relationship will also change the heart, so it really is about just being in God’s presence.
There have been times as I have hiked (or mountain biked) where you cannot see the trail markers until you are right upon them. But, just like the hiking or biking, you continue to follow the path that is laid out before you until you see the next marker. I think following God is much the same… and as you state, the heart is a HUGE factor. You have to have faith to know that the marker (confirmation) is coming as you continue to make forward progress. If I were to stop every time I lose sight of the next marker, I would go nowhere. Sometimes I just have to keep moving along the trail in faith, knowing God will confirm I am going the right way.
That is a great analogy Ryan about the hiking and biking. Follow the path even when no sign is seen. Sounds a lot like following God. 🙂
So glad to the safe travels you all had! Yes, knowing God is the first step to fully trust Him to show us the way He wants us to go. For me, it’s a daily commitment to choose to submit all that I am to Him.
Blessings, Bill!
I like that thought Martha: a daily commitment. Well said.
I love that quote, also true is that you have to give God your whole heart, the deeper the relationship is with God, the more God can reveal to you. Which makes seeing the trail, staying on the trail, committing to the ups and downs of the trail, when you have full trust in God, the surprises of the trail do not scare you to veer off into another direction. It took me a long time to understand that it is God’s desire to be in an intimate relationship with me, for me to fully commit my heart to His. It is the only relationship in life where I do not have to worry that God will out grow my relationship with Him or choose to move on. The more I let Him in, the more I surrender, the deeper the bond is, the more He can mode me to grow into the disciple He sees in me. With that in mind, I do not want to just be barely involved with Him, in just a casual relationship, I want to be in a fully intimate relationship that our Father has promised to those who surrender and trust Him.
Great comment Gail. I especially liked the middle of it when you said, “It is the only relationship in life where I do not have to worry that God will out grow my relationship with Him or choose to move on.” That speaks diamonds to the heart!