9-2-2016

  Good Morning All!! 

    Proverbs 16:9; “A person may plan his own journey, but the Lord directs his steps.”

    It never fails.  We decide to go somewhere, plan the route all out, the GPS is all set and the next thing you know, we are in the middle of road construction.  There are two things about road construction that drive me nuts, pilot cars and detours.  Following the pilot car as the guy driving the pilot car bobs and weaves in and around the pot holes, equipment and men is always a challenge.  Then there is the beloved detour.  It is plainly marked, they say, you can’t miss it.  It was plainly mark before the oversized load went through and knocked down the signs.  The GPS tells us to go back and start over; the stiff necked German (me) keeps pushing on and my wife shakes her head.  I just tell her it is an adventure and we are experiencing new places.

    In our faith journey, we often experience the same thing.  We have all the necessary guidance tools.  We have God’s Word, we have the Spirit, we even have those whom God places in our lives to help us see the path as we travel on but we sometimes still get lost.  We refuse to follow the guidance tools and seek our own way.  We think our way is better or easier when in fact we are lost.

    We may plan our own journeys but God is the one who directs them.  We may have plans for wealth or being famous only to have God turn those plans into having us being servants of his in his kingdom.  This happens often as God chooses to use our talents and skills to his work and glory.  This is all fine when it involves joy but what happens when it involves pain or sadness?        

    Sometimes our journey is not what we planned or even what we want but it is the journey upon which God leads us.  He guides us through it and gives us hope.  God is the one who walks besides us and guides us with His Word and Spirit.  He places people into our lives to be his arms and voice.  It is all there if we trust him.  We will have his comfort and ultimately his peace.  Yet if we leave the path that God has given us, we will be hurt and we will be lost.  We have to trust God and rely on his grace to lead us down the path, but more than that; He walks down the path with us beside us to offer us comfort and hope.  He gently leads us to rely only on Him for our hope.  The path may be rough; it may not be the path that we had planned but God provides for us.  He provides us with the certainty of his love and grace for us.  We know that his mercy is true and will provide for us the guidance that we need to face this life.

Dearest Father, too often we look to our own plans as the path that we will follow.  Forgive us for failing to trust in your will to provide for the way that we will go.  Guard us and guide us as we travel through this life.  Lead us by your grace to life eternal.  Be with those whose path is clouded and whose journey is difficult.  Give them the comfort of knowing that you will give them the guidance that they need and the comfort that they may rely on.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret