God's footpath...

Christians are asked one question more often than any other. "How could God let/allow/make that happen?"  It's a question that is difficult to answer, because we do not know what God has in mind.  We see only the trees.  God created not only the forest, but the whole universe.  It's not just a matter of scale.  It's an entirely different perspective altogether.

The short answer is, quite simply, I don't know.  It's not very satisfying, but it's the best I can do.

Sometimes I feel strongly that I've followed God's direction only to end up mired in quicksand, stuck, unable to get myself out.  At other times, I'm trapped in an earthquake, everything uncertain and shaking around me.  Occasionally, I find an oasis in the desert, and am unexpectedly refreshed.  Once in a great while, I end up exactly where I imagined.  Life's a skeet shoot.  My pieces usually land in the shallow swamp.

Being a Christian has not offered me a crystal ball.  There is no Christian GPS leading us most efficiently to the correct destination.  Christians are as vulnerable to shallow decision making as anyone else.  I am a genius at it more often than not.

When things are going well, I, like most people, tend to forget where the blessings come from.  I get high on myself, and think whatever positive thing is happening is due to my own efforts and hard work.  It becomes a "me" thing, not a "we" thing, and God gets left out of the equation.

When disaster inevitably strikes, then I moan and wail about the consequence of making my own choices, and wonder why God has abandoned me. I think the lesson is likely to be that God has never abandoned me.  Rather, I have abandoned him, and this is the result.

What all Christians do have, however, is assurance that there is a plan for us.  In addition, that plan is flexible and changeable.  God will allow us to make lemonade when we find ourselves sucking on life's lemons.  Each hard lesson learned is a step closer to the perfection of God's will for our lives, if we learn from the experience and don't keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again.

God has a covenant with his children.  In Isaiah 55:9 (TNIV) he tells us,

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

What a powerful reassurance this is for us.  No matter where our sinful natures lead us astray, God still has a plan that will bring meaning to the chaos.  It is a fundamental statement of his promise that our lives have meaning and value to him, even when we mess things up.

Next time you are wondering where to find the map out of the mine field you dropped yourself into, consider whether or not you were listening to God's will for your life before you got there, or following your own desires.  God created the pattern of the whole universe.  He fit each part together so intricately that we cannot even discover all the pieces that are in place.  If he cared for the amoeba and the mosquito, and provided a way for us to be sustained through the complicated chain that leads from them to us, we can be confident he will provide the perfect path for us.

I am going to take the time this week to truly listen to his directives, and follow the course outline he has set for me.  I have so many questions about my life, and what he wants from me, and only God knows the right answers.  When I think I see an occasional glimpse, I am going to examine it closely, to see whether it's God leading me, or me running out ahead and into the path of the oncoming train.

Like a child, I will follow the footsteps he leaves for me as a trail, stepping carefully so as to stay inside the track.  I am confident that with his outline to guide me, I will have the perfect peace that comes from being in God's will, no matter what the world throws my way.

Wishing you a week in God's will.