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
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