Running Ahead of God
Psalm 37:34a Wait for the LORD and keep his way.
Currently I’m on a four day personal prayer fast and vision cast retreat. For
the last year, I’ve been so busy at church that I feel as though (and certainly
know) that I’ve been running ahead of God and expecting Him to catch up with me.
That’s not how our spiritual relationship is supposed to work. Like everyone
else, I’m meant to stand and wait for His call to show me the way ahead.
I remember years ago, when I was about five years old, my family went on a
vacation to Prestwick, Scotland. Each day, we used to walk down to the beach on
a path alongside a small creek (which is called a ‘burn’ in Scotland). At the
end of the path, there was a fork with two separate destinations. One day, I ran
ahead of my family and chose my own path. I fully expected my parents and
siblings to follow me. When they went the other way, I felt stupid, fearful, and
angry.
My Dad called me back and when I reached him, he told me these words: “If you
had asked me which way we were going before you ran on ahead, I would have told
you.”
That’s why I feel that I need this prayer and fasting mini-retreat. I need to
ask God where He wants our church to go, what He wants our Session to do, and
how He wants me to lead. I don’t find stopping and waiting, praying and fasting
easy, but I don’t want to go down the wrong path either.
Perhaps spiritually, you’re feeling distant or even isolated from God. Maybe
like me, you’ve busily ran on ahead thinking that God will soon catch up. But it
could be that you’ve stumbled down the wrong path and that He’s now calling you
back to where He wants you to be.
Sometimes the path less travelled is not what God expects us to choose or
follow.
Prayer: Father God, each day we are faced with choices that take us on new
journeys and different paths. Sometimes we follow our own lead and end up
distant from You. Give us the courage to turnaround, to wait for Your guidance,
and to listen to Your directions. Keep us from straying and help us to be led by
Jesus, our Shepherd and Savior. In His Name, we pray. Amen.
John Stuart traqair@aol.com
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA