I confess that I love GPS and cannot imagine life without it now. I was never (and am not now) a very good map reader like my husband is. The newest GPS devices or apps appeal to my best learning style – auditory – and combine it with seeing the path I am to take.

 

Older ones we have used are already eclipsed by much better tools as technology grows. My car does not have the screen displays that will allow it to be projected for me, but my smartphone can certainly do that with ease. My favorite choice when I am heading to someplace new or going on a trip is to input the address in the Waze app.

 

I have other options that work, but I find this app suits me since it not only points to and tells me the way but also gives me additional information. It will let me know if there is an obstacle or pothole in the lane ahead as well as cars that may be stopped along the road or where the police are. It tells me when construction or an accident has brought traffic to a crawl or stop and if there is an alternative route to get me out of that mess. (That latter one has saved us a great deal of time when traveling on various interstates on trips.)

 

I know I should not hesitate to use a map, but it is hard to do while driving and doesn’t give me as much information as the latest devices or apps. I somehow feel that knowing all this additional information can not only help me get to my destination the easiest and best way, but also help me do it more safely.

 

One downside to my preference is how much I now depend on this new technology to make my travel easier.

 

Sometimes I think we would like to have a GPS like this to do life, something to let us know in advance what is ahead of us and how to avoid accidents, potholes and obstacles in the path. But that is not how the Lord designed us and I have no doubt He has excellent reasons.

 

You see the Lord has the advantage of knowing the beginning as well as the end of the journey we take and sees the long view instead of our more short-sided approach to much in our lives. He also knows where He plans to lead us and despite all that we may have planned or hoped, his design is the one that matters. His wisdom knows that the easy straight path will not develop maturity, trust, or strength of character for the end game.

 

Little by little from birth until we return home to the Lord, He designs the path for the task or goal. He may give us a glimpse of the path ahead, but not a clear view and not very far.

 

All along the way the Lord allows persons, places, and circumstances to intersect us in preparation for what lays ahead. We never see that when we are younger and sometimes not even in mid-life. As we age, we can better see how one thing built upon another to equip us for the next thing and to get us to our destination.

 

Corrie Ten Boom spoke to this in her well-known book, The Hiding Place, in the following quote:

 

“Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for a future only He can see.”

 

Unlike the GPS that is designed to get us to our destination the fastest and easiest way, the Lord knows that will not serve us for that “future only He can see.”

 

It is easy to think of people along my journey who have encouraged and affirmed me and give them due credit for that. But I am persuaded that when I think of those who have been most challenging or critical, most difficult or disappointing, I know they have been used by the Lord in powerful ways to prepare me for now and maybe beyond now.

 

A simple illustration to consider that is looking back at the teachers we had in our school life. Hopefully we have had many great ones and we recall them with fondness, but those we tend to recall the most are those who were the toughest and often demanded the most of us. They gave us no quarter with their expectations or grades and accepted no excuses for not doing what was required or asked of us.

 

We may not love this latter group of teachers, but they prepared us for college professors and bosses who thought they were working with adults who followed directions and understood the requirements. They recognized our weaknesses and cared enough to help strengthen them instead of being overly concerned about being liked by us.

 

Good parents, loving parents, understand that training and discipline of their cuddly adorable babies and toddlers are needed for them to succeed. And there is no greater nor loving parent than God, our Father. He has purposed to lead us back to Him and bring us home one day. He knows our favorite GPS will not get us there.

 

^“ There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!”

Romans 5:3-5 (MSG)

 

 

 

 

 

 

It would be wonderful if every day started well. We’d awaken with a good night’s sleep under our belt. The sun would be shining, and we had enough energy to take on what the day’s agenda called for. A nutritious breakfast would taste better than our usual Danish and cream-laden coffee and that walk that always gets set aside actually happened. Little by little the items on our list for the day would get handled without a glitch and we’d be surprised how much was accomplished by lunch time.

 

Sound like an ideal day?  The description would make it seem so.

 

We like to think days will start that way more often than they do or maybe even hope they might happen occasionally. But for most of us a day doesn’t sound much like this.

 

Most of us according to statistics don’t wake up refreshed because we didn’t get a good night’s sleep. Unless we live in certain places in the world being greeted by sunshine is only a 50-50 shot and no matter what we read about a nutritious breakfast, many of us skip eating or grab the nearest thing hoping it will wake us up.

 

As we drag ourselves up from a chair for another cup of coffee and notice the time, we decide that walk will need to wait for another day. We have a “to do list” that is already longer than the hours we have and besides, we would need to really get dressed to go outside for a walk or run.

 

Many of our days start from a far from ideal place and by afternoon our frustration can be simmering. It happens whether we are a stay at home or a person out on a job. This kind of day leaves us feeling empty and the frustration grows because the things that need to be done don’t go away because the day ends.

 

The truth is that most of us can identify with days like this. We don’t have lovely quiet times every day where we are clear on the Lord’s voice to us and feel assured of His design for the day.

 

As I was reading Luke 5:1-11, I was struck by the story of someone else who started his day with things not going very well. Peter as a well-respected and seasoned fisherman was used to having all sorts of days on the water with his nets. Some days the catch was good. Some days it was barely enough to provide for his family, but on the day in this passage he had worked hard all night and on this morning the nets were empty. Talk about a frustrating day of disappointment.

 

Peter knew all the best spots on the lake and best times to cast out his nets. He surely had other bad days, but this one may well have been one of the worst.

 

Now imagine your boat is already tied up and your boat was commandeered by Jesus to preach from and once He is done, He tells you to take the boat out again into deep water and put your nets out for a catch. You may have been listening to His message and one thing you are pretty sure of is that He is not a fisherman. So, you remind Him you were already working hard all night and the fish aren’t biting, but you agree to go out again and follow what He says to do.

 

Some of you know the story well.

 

This time the nets are so full of fish they are nearly breaking and Peter needs help to haul in the catch. What a turnabout in Peter’s day. Looks like quite a success, but Peter knows it’s not his success and falls on his knees and tells Jesus to leave because he’s a sinner and can’t handle the evidence of such holiness.

 

Peter has been humbled in a way that is clear to him – in the area of his gifts and calling – but Jesus has a new calling in mind. The haul of fish was amazing, but it was what spoke to Peter’s heart that made all the difference that morning.

 

As Eric and Kristen Hill write in The First Breakfast:

 

“Peter is brought to his knees in humility, not because this incredible gift has landed in his lap, but because his eyes are opened to the Giver that is standing in front of him with an open hand.”

 

Peter’s morning started as an exhausted, disheartened fisherman, but his day ends as one who is a convinced follower of Jesus accepting a new call to be a fisher of men with and for Him.

 

Our mornings may not start out the way we hope, but we (like Peter) need to have our eyes opened to see beyond what our natural eyes see when we crawl out of bed in the morning. That will make ALL the difference.

 

“To see who Jesus is and who we are in Him ushers in a necessary brokenness that helps us to see everything more clearly.”

Eric and Kristen Hill

 

 

 

As a lover of movies, I most love them for the messages they bring me through their stories. I had seen very few movies before I met the man who would become my husband. His love of movies exposed me to so many wonderful films (along with some poor ones here and there). I have more than a few favorites.

 

Among those favorites, The Lord of the Rings trilogy stands above them all. The scripts adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s great work never fail to speak to me. We have watched them often since they first appeared on the big screen. It would be fair to say we watch the series once a year. I know them well and yet here and there I will see or hear something differently or to a greater depth.

 

As I look at the turmoil in the world in any direction I glance, I see great divisions based on religion, culture, values, types of government, and so much more.

 

What is saddest perhaps is the amount of division that is so evident in the body of Christ. Have we forgotten Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12:12, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”  (ESV)

 

How can we ever defeat darkness and evil when we so often bicker among ourselves over a long list of things? Do we not recognize we have a common foe meant on dividing us, weakening us? I would not suggest that we could agree on all areas. We are flawed humans walking out our faith after all. But what could unite us?

 

I cannot answer that with certainty; but as I watch the first film, The Fellowship of the Ring, in the trilogy, I see clearly there was also much division depicted there as well. Much of it related to the quest for power and influence.

 

Abraham Lincoln said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

 

 How very true are his words!

 

In The Fellowship of the Ring J.R.R. Tolkien described the power sources in his epigraph:

 

“Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,

One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne

In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,

One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.”

 

As the movie begins Middle-earth is weak and disunited, with little truth existing among the various races depicted. Dissension abounds in all the different human kingdoms as the scenes unfold. One of the important keys is that the true leaders are not in their rightful places or positions. Maybe that is what feeds the lust for the power of the “One Ring” to rule them all.

 

As I consider the state of the earth in the film and now, I cannot help but think and see similarities. Truth is hard to come by. Lived experiences, filters, biases, and more all coalesce to keep discord stirring. All the while, we lose sight of the devices of the enemy to divide us. We also forget the story of the Tower of Babel when God put a stop to the pride to build a tower representing the power of mankind seeking to ascend to the very heavens. That pride and lust for power, fame, and influence had been brewing since the Garden of Eden in the fiber of mankind.

 

Even as believers we must stand watch over this ancient part of our original DNA.

 

If we remain alert and keep our eyes and ears focused on the spiritual realities, we see there is one enemy that seeks to disrupt us, spoil us as the trophies won by the Lord at Calvary.

 

IF we keep that awareness, we may humble ourselves at the foot of the cross before the One whose power is good and perfect, One who walks humbly before His Father and all of us, One who is ever full of grace and mercy.

 

IF we keep that focus, then we will keep in focus that no matter where you gather in worship or what songs you sing, our enemy is also the same because he is the Lord’s enemy. Our identification with the Lord as His disciples, his children, gives us the call to stand with and for Him.

 

We do not just represent Him, we present Him.

 

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and the sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”          

Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV