Turn Toward The Light
"Stop doing wrong, learn to do right!"
-- Isaiah 1:16b-17a
We all mean to do good. We do. We want to be kind and generous and sweet and compassionate. We want to tell the truth, never covet something someone else has, and serve God in all things. It's just that sometimes the wanting and the doing don't exactly come together the way we intended.
Most of the time it seems we're living down to our expectations -- and the expectations others have of us -- instead of living up to the standards God set for us. We're believing other people when it comes to how we should live and can live rather than believing God. Again, we don't mean to do it. We just do.
Sometimes our expectations come from personal experience. Maybe we've tried to live a better life and failed miserably at it. Like the alcoholic who stays sober for years, then takes a bender. Or the person who means to never get really angry and abusive again, but then just lets it go one day. So we just give up. We determine there's no point in trying when we'll just fail anyway.
And we're right. We will fail. We're human. But the thing is, God doesn't fail. And when we learn to depend on Him, draw strength and wisdom from Him, then we can change our path and succeed.
Changing our course doesn't have to involve a detailed plan. We don't have to hit bottom. We don't need the support of everyone around us (though that would be nice). We can change the minute our knees hit the floor and we call out to God for help. He will give us the strength and guidance to take a different path, to follow His teachings, to plant His Word in our hearts. Change comes when we hand the past over to Him and move constantly and consistently toward the light.
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