Standing on a sheet of ice in the middle of February, thinking… I had heard about the recent news in the middle east. The wars and the prophecies. I listened intently to church leaders and to the tv broadcasts. I felt that this year may be the last year that I ice fished with family. – Approx Year 1995
Meeting her was magical and unreal. Sometime later we met eyes and I knew she was my wife. It was shocking and piercing, yet relieving and peacefully reassuring. – Approx Year 2003
Standing in the doorway where I saw myself years before. The phrase Associate Pastor came alive to me, though not in the way I anticipated, not in this form. – Approx Year 2016
Out of all the occupations I considered, I hadn’t thought of massage as being a career choice or path. Now it becomes evident that it is at least a doorway into a vast world of bodywork and healthcare that I hadn’t considered before. – Approx Year 2019
How did I get here? How did you get where you are? Did you plan it out for 20 years? How many exact steps did you know ahead of time?
Some of you may feel that you knew and were on a specific path to reach your present destination, that is great. However when we look at where our paths have brought us, few if any of us, would have set the circumstances up specifically as they happened. Maybe in an overly broad sense at best.
Specific circumstances we find ourselves in are rarely pin-pointed with regularity ahead of time. If you feel like you have, I’d encourage you to rethink and reexamine your path. More than likely it was more general than super-specific. And often the super-specific is the exception rather than the rule.
Prov. 3 Verses 5 to 6. [5] Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. [6] In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Prov. 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
In a world where we fight and attempt to claim control. God asks us to live by faith. In life we may plan, the Lord determines the steps. In a life where we are so tempted to live by our own understanding, God asks us to acknowledge him… because He directs paths.
In this life we may feel like we know, but the form rarely turns out the way we had imagined, though the general outcome may resemble our desire and dream, the path is not within our realm of control. We choose, yet even our options for choosing aren’t limitless, they often possess a certain context or band of limited options to choose from. More on this in a future post.
Life in the end, seems to be a big, “We’ll see”.
To say that we authoritatively know x, w, and z that will happen in the upcoming days can be unwise. Many people have lost credibility in doing so.
James 4:13-15 NLT
13Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” 16Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil. 17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
The point I’m trying to make is simple. Every detail of life doesn’t have to be controlled or understood. Trust and navigate today’s waters with the compass of peace and joy. That doesn’t mean that rocky areas won’t come, but decisions will be clearer and peace will be stronger. Uncertainty will be present with us and is necessary to enjoy the thrill of life. Faith is necessary to keep your sanity during the thrill. Row your boat gently down the stream, act when you know you need to act, speak when you know you need to speak, and trust in God… its a way of life. You don’t graduate from faith, love, and hope. Rather you repeatedly encounter the opportunity to grow in them. This is life to the full. And what a joy it is to appear like him… like Love. To shine the character of love to all those that watch and navigate their life next to us. Love never Ends. 1 Cor. 13
Ephesians 3 NLT
14When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,e 15the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.f 16I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.