journey onWord with us

It was just an ordinary day. My wife was working around our house and doing some gardening. Then, out of the clear blue, her knee started hurting in ways she had never experienced. And since that day, knee pain and aggravation have been her constant companion. Life changes in a moment, and the results linger. Sometimes just for a little while. Sometimes for a lifetime. Often, the pain is far greater than a bad knee. Doesn’t the Father know we all have plans and would prefer not to deal with momentary, lasting or lifetime unwanted circumstances? Of course, He does!

My wife’s experience has reminded me of one of my all-time favorite verses of Scripture. For me, it has an interesting chapter and verse designation … 2024. Proverbs 20:24 says,

The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way? (NLT)

It will certainly be easy to remember 20:24, but what about the life-changing words of the verse? Who really lives by the whole truth of the words of Proverbs 20:24? Christ-followers don’t doubt the truth of 20:24 but struggle to live it out in practice. Can 2024 be different as we trust and rest in His direction, knowing He will guide us?

Quite frankly, most people struggle with the words, “why try to understand everything along the way?” I know I do! Why did my wife’s knee give way last year, changing every day for her since? On a far deeper level, why have friends that walked so well in faith leave for heaven so early? Or what about my friend in Florida who is wrestling with how life has changed so dramatically because of his wife’s health?  People in your world and mine have circumstances that, humanly speaking, make no sense. And you probably have some “I want to understand why” issues interrupting your journey right now.  In truth, life will likely always be littered with “trying to understand why” circumstances on this side of heaven.

Insight relative to this verse comes, for me, when I land on its left side. “The Lord directs our steps.” Intellectually, those words resonate. But allowing them to do the necessary work in our heart takes circumstance and submission. How do we live left side dominate (The Lord directs our steps)? Reading it is a start, repeating (memorizing) it takes it a step further, but releasing our hold and letting Him lead may just be the secret that causes 20:24 to come alive in our lives.

“Understanding everything along the way” is not the way we’re meant to live. Resting in the reality of the Lord directing our steps is. So why not take the challenge in 2024 to let 20:24 become your verse. If you will take the journey with me to meditate on it until the seeded words saturate your mind and change your heart … something will happen! Resting in the truth that “The Lord directs our steps” can cause us to stop “trying to understand everything along the way.” When that happens, 20:24 will come alive in 2024. Even after knee pain and surgery, momentary and maybe even a lifetime of hard circumstance, we can rest in the fact that “The Lord directs our steps.”

Consider taking Proverbs 20:24 as your mantra this year!

The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?

Any kind of shopping for me is almost as pleasurable as visiting the dentist (although, I have a great dentist). My wife has become very patient with my store-avoidance! On one particular evening, I was a dutiful husband and visited a store that provided lots of motivational material. It was intriguing to read some of the quotes on the knickknacks and plaques. One made me laugh, and another made me think. “Gone Crazy, back in a moment” made me pause and enjoy a good laugh after a long day. I was forced to think as I read the words of another wall hanging that went something like this: “The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you.” Oh, how quickly can I say “Amen” to that last statement intellectually; but, oh, how quickly does the reality of it cause me to think, act or say differently. How about you?

Are we willing to gladly accept the will of God and trust His sovereignty over every aspect of our lives? Without a doubt! But in the everyday struggles of life, we all battle with our own goals and desires for happiness versus what God ordains for us. Quite frankly, the hurried pace at which we all live can cause us to spend very little time listening for the will of God. And therefore, most of the Christian living I see is people doing the best they can, yet never really feeling comfortable or certain that they’re hearing the will of God. How about you?

In my own life, I am convinced that maturing, so I can better fulfill the will of God, is an adventure worth striving for. In the process of really trying to ratchet back the pace of my external and internal life (work in progress), I stumbled on a book titled An Unhurried Life by Alan Fadling. In reading, I found another quote that made me pause and take note. Take a moment yourself to read the larger context, and then zero in on the bolded words…

When I found myself slowing down inside, the Lord seemed to say, “Don’t talk trust and live worry.” As a pastor, I often recommended truths that I was not practicing. Anxiety drove a lot of what I said and did. And Jesus was inviting me to live with trust in Him instead of worry.

Don’t talk trust and live worry! It seems to me that talking trust and living worry is the 21st century Christian way. Talking about trusting God is easy to do. Living without worry? … that’s an entirely different story. But wait a minute … if it’s God’s will for us to trust (in every situation), and if worry is a sin, can’t you and I begin to talk trust and live trust? Absolutely. But it will never happen without strong conviction in His sovereignty and a consistent intake of His Word. I am convinced that Christ-followers can live trust-filled lives with a strong sense of God’s protection. How about you?

I am realistic enough to know that you and I will always battle with some measure of tension between talking trust and living worry. But we can be intentional in living trust!

As I close, I’d like to share one last statement. It changed the life of Hudson Taylor (a great missionary of years ago) and can certainly benefit you and me. It was said of Hudson that he came to a place where … he stopped striving to be faithful and started trusting the Faithful One. Could it be that you and I carry our burdens (trying to be faithful) when we should, instead, be shifting the weight of our every care to our Sovereign Lord, Protector and Provider? Sounds good to me! How about you?

Sixteen years later and I am still embarrassed. Over the years, I have tried to stay in good physical shape by running. On a few occasions, even entering local 5K races. But on a particular Saturday, peer pressure got the best of me. I was in Florida and my wife’s aunt was going to run a local 5k race. She was nearly seventy years old at the time (if she could run the race, so could I). With no practice and about 20lbs of extra “baggage,” I was all in for the race. By the first mile marker, I was moving at a snail’s pace … and then it happened. Loud footsteps were overtaking me. Looking back, I was shocked to see a young runner who may have been about five years old passing me. With too much pride to quit and too much weight to succeed, I plodded slowly to the finish line. I wonder, could 20lbs less have changed the outcome?
Could it be in the life race you are running, weight is causing you to move at a snail’s pace and plod toward the finish line? The issue is not being overweight physically, but life weights that are slowing you down. Just as many of us will battle with too many pounds at some point, everyone will struggle with life weights that impede our spiritual progress. I’m guessing there’s at least one life weight slowing your pace right now.

From God’s perspective, the answer for excess life weight is clear.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
Hebrews 12:1(NLT)

Set in the context of a race, this verse gifts great counsel on how to run. For anyone serious about the claims of Christ, running lean is a priority. Too much clothing or weight will always slow a runner. Weight that slows our spiritual effectiveness is just as damaging in the life race God designed for us. Weights that burden Christ-followers, though, aren’t inherently bad. They are also things like your job, meaningful hobbies, family, or even the technology that we love. But we must recognize that anything that hinders our time with God and walk of faith is a weight that needs to be stripped off. Easier said than done, right?
Dealing with the weights that slow us down spiritually takes discipline. A profound definition of discipline caught and captured my attention this summer. It can relate to our spiritual weights or even our physical weight. “Discipline is choosing what you want most, over what you want now.” (The Power to Change by Craig Groschel)

Hmm!!! What we want most is:

• To honor God with our health, but what we want now often clashes with a healthy lifestyle.
• To honor God as a fully devoted follower of Christ, but what we want now pushes out the discipline necessary to grow spiritually.

If there are weights slowing you down (remember weights aren’t always bad in, and of themselves), simply give them back to Him, and intentionally choose what you want most. Too honor God with both our physical and spiritual health is worth it. By the way, my wife’s 70-something aunt was a runner of marathons. She prepared well, and so can we! Run lean for Christ.

A number of years ago, I wrote about a brief devotional I received via email that was “only a few sentences long, but the length of its personal challenge has extended for days in my own life.” A dear brother reminded me of it recently, and now I suppose its personal challenge can be measured in years. I offer its words and my own again for whatever purpose the Spirit may have for them in your precious life.

A thumbprint is the only marginalia in Abraham Lincoln’s Bible. Next to Psalm 34:4 — I sought the LORD and he answered me.  He delivered me from all my fears. — there is an indentation clearly showing that Lincoln firmly grasped this text on more than one occasion to let it sink into his bones. That thumbprint was made by pressure and by faith.

In your Bible, next to Psalm 34:4, lightly sketch an image of a thumbprint. Let this be your prayerful reminder of what impact trusting God for deliverance from fear might have on the world, both today, and tomorrow.

I’m a history guy, so this very personal revelation about President Lincoln resonated deeply with me. I am also a sensory guy, so the mention of a thumbprint indentation stirred me to the core. The author’s challenge was excellent, but instead of walking away from this treasured story with a fleeting fact and a sketched thumbprint next to that verse in my Bible, I was challenged with the following two questions.

Is there even a single thumbprint indentation in my Bible(s)?

and

On what verse or page would it appear?

I am all about an inspiring story, but I don’t desire to imitate or live anyone else’s life or faith.  This is not meant as a criticism of the author’s words or intent … I appreciated them both. There are countless famous and anonymous people who have lived with great character and conviction, and there’s not the slightest harm in being inspired by them. But rather than imitating and tracing our thumbprint in a place where there’s was, I’d humbly suggest that we allow their stories and lives to awaken, or birth something new and unique in ours.

I have many Bibles. But have any of them been used to the extent that they would bear a thumbprint indentation? Scripture is ever-present and essential in my personal journey of following Jesus.  Is there a verse, chapter or story that has “sunk into my bones,” and is there any evidence of it “made by pressure and faith?” Where is my thumbprint? Where is yours?

NOTE:  In my post years ago, I included a link in this same spot to the original devotional post distributed by the Common English Bible website. Unfortunately, the original source must have been removed or moved, so the link no longer works.

When was the last time you had one of those “aha” moments with God? I had one a few Saturdays ago. For full context, the moment occurred at the end of a frustrating technology problem. In preparing to travel, I needed to print something, and the printer said “offline.” About an hour and a half and two conversations with nice men from the Philippines later, yes, I could print. What a relief!

Fast forward a few days, and you guessed it … the printer is offline again. Are there ever lessons in patience you don’t particularly want to learn? For me, staring at a computer screen watching someone manipulate my computer and printer fits the bill. But I was visiting with a nice person from the Philippines again, so the hour of inactivity and patience building was tolerable. And then…

At the end of my time watching Mel from the Philippines work on my computer and explain some of the process she was using, something unexplainable happened. When asked to test the printer, I ventured to the basement. The first page I saw was the next day’s song sheet from church. Upon returning from the basement for what seemed like the 100th time in several days (can you feel my lack of patience bleeding out), I heard a sweet expressive voice singing “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know.” Mel, who was logged into my computer saw the song sheet and began to sing with joy. I was stunned and asked about her faith. She told me she was saved and shared her story. She shared that she felt her life was not as close to Christ as earlier on her faith journey. Now what do I do?

We talked, prayed together and I was able to give her some resource material on the internet (it was easy since she was logged into my computer). She ended the conversation with words that made me certain she felt that moment was from God. And to think, I was frustrated by having my very important day interrupted!!

The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?
Proverbs 20:24 (NLT)

I am so good at quoting the verse above. But on the days when technology interrupts my schedule, I long to be self-directed! What about you? What challenges your patience when there could be a need or God-authored opportunity staring you in the face (my computer screen)? Interruptions are a common theme for all of us. But opportunities to love, care and minister are often imbedded in interruptions.

A friend just shared with me recently that a large portion of Jesus’ miracles were performed when He was interrupted. Jesus was the Master of patience and living in the moment. For us, believing that the Lord directs our steps is meaningful. But it takes intentional focus to live this way.

I would love to meet Mel in heaven and say thanks for the blessing and teaching me! Who are your Mel’s?