God's Hand In Our Journeys
Hebrews 11:8
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Life's definitely a journey. A start and a destination. We go from place to place looking for the next refueling place or rest stop. Some have a road map with a definite plan and others go headlong into the journey with no real concern for where they end up.
This past week we took off on a trip across the southern USA eventually ending up in Texas. We had plans to travel through KY, visiting our friend Jamie and then on to see a friend Dan just south of Nashville and on to Montgomery AL, before moving on to TX.
As we entered into the Nashville area we hit a wall of traffic . Our meeting planned for 10:30 was suddenly delayed. Thankfully, our meeting host was able to change his schedule to facilitate us. Our plans for the day were completely changed... like a line of dominoes, one thing after another moved.
We had a plan that should have worked well, but we really don't have much of a say in our travel plans. There are several scripture verses that explain our journey and God's hand in the lives of His children.
Proverbs 16:9 makes it clear that God has the Ultimate say over our lives. 9 "The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps".
Exodus 40:36 tells us, "Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out."
This story of the Israelites and their journey in the desert after leaving Egypt is a good place to start a discussion on life's journeys. They had been enslaved for 400 years, and now they were finally able to travel and have a fresh start in their lives and in their history. The exciting part is that God was leading them every step of the way, and all they needed to do was follow the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Unfortunately, we don't always have a literal "cloud" to guide us, but as Christians we do have tools. We can pray, read God's word, and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in the direction that He would direct.
God gives us leeway in life. He doesn't always just give us one choice. We have a freewill and sometimes He allows us to make the choice that we feel is best. We may have more than one option that are in His will. Sometimes we just have to pray and make a choice.
The journey of life is a winding road with many available turnoffs. Give the decisions of what direction to take over to God, "and He will direct your paths".
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