Monday, February 23, 2015

The Discipline of Faith

"THEREFORE LIFT YOUR DROOPING HANDS AND STRENGTHEN YOUR FEEBLE KNEES, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather healed." Hebrews 12:12-13

AKA: Hands up, walk straight forward, into the unknown praising me.

I don't know about you, but walking a straight path is pretty difficult for me sometimes.  I feel like God has been speaking that He has me on the straight path but I keep running off the path into the surrounding forests when I think I see something up ahead that looks scary or unfamiliar. I always find my way back to the straight path, but I like detours way too much lately in the deeper places of faith He is taking me. So God's put up the railings along the road so to speak, and He's been training me how to walk forward, with my hands held high no matter what I think is in the road up ahead.

Perception seems to be something that has really encouraged my detours as well. A friend was visiting Cambodia this week, and they looked out over the city off our balcony, and said " If it looked this way back home I'd presume a storm was coming, but it's not here is it?" Our perception of even what a storm looks like up ahead, could keep us from walking that path. But the perception of what we see as a storm up ahead, isn't necessarily so.  I'm not saying that I would avoid a storm if God chose to put it in my path right now, but if I'm honest I'd be more apt to take the trail off of the road, and into the forest off of the path to take refuge for a bit. The forest isn't necessarily a bad place either, but you can't run and I find myself seeking refuge before I can even clearly see what was actually in the road that made me detour in the first place.



The truth is I have no idea what is in the path up ahead, but I know I can run the path marked out for me if I keep detouring in the forest. I was on a little getaway with some friends this past week to Angkor Watt, a beautiful old civilization of temple ruins- some of the oldest in the world. I fell in love with zipping my motto through the forests along the path exploring new temple ruins. But there were many little paths off of the main road that ran into the forest, that I really wanted to just take a quick turn down. But I knew If I did that I wouldn't be able to drive well through them and might get lost in the process. We were created for the straight path. It's okay to get correction sometimes, its a mark of being a daughter or son of the most high King- but there is a time where we need to learn to navigate that straight path with God, into the unknown with hands raised high. To walk into greater depths of faith and obedience to God.
I don't care if it's family issues, or fear of rejection up ahead. I don't care if it's a storm, or sunny skies. Walk, take a stride or two and praise the One who is worthy. 

Followers