Sunday, February 7, 2010

Follow God's Road

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." -- Hebrews 11:8

Whenever I'm headed out to someplace I've never been, I want two things. I want a GPS programmed to get me where I'm going and I want a printout from mapquest for just in case the GPS gets lost. I also stick a map in my bag too. I know this might be a little excessive, but I've used all three at one time or another.

Abraham didn't have a GPS or mapquest. I doubt he even had a map. He had something much more valuable. He got directions from God and he followed them. I want to be like Abraham. I want to just forge ahead even when I don't have a clue (which is fairly often) in the direction God would have me go. And, mostly, I do. I'm forever asking Him to show me the way, to light my path and give me a nudge. If I'm oblivious or get my directions wrong, I want Him to go ahead and turn me around until I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. See, I've read it all wrong before. I know how bad things can get when my directions don't coincide with God's. That was a bad road trip and I don't want to go there again.

Of course, the path isn't always easy even when I know I'm doing what God wants me to do. I'll be walking my own little walk, minding my own business, and someone will tell me what I should be doing instead. They'll try to turn me around and convince me I've got it all wrong. It hurts, especially when the "advice" comes from good Christians who really should know better. So I do what any child does when her feelings are hurt. I run back to my Father and tell him all about it. He dusts me off and sets me back on the path He's called me to walk.

I question Him every step of the way. I'm the child who asks "Are we there yet?" about every mile or so. I'm impatient and want to see what's ahead before we get there. God understands. I'm the one who reads the book's ending before I get past the first few chapters. So you see, I already know where I'm headed because I've read the ending of the book. My path leads right to heaven and the waiting arms of Jesus. Everything in between is just scenery along the way.