“My times are in your hand;”
Psalm 31:15
It’s about smoothening out the road. This journey we’re on. Isaiah talks about this.
Isaiah 40:3-5 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
For me, today, I’m interested in the highs and the lows, particularly the lows. I’m coming out of a low period from last week. Those are rough. I can get feeling pretty miserable about myself. I start neglecting my good spiritual patterns and eventually end up in trouble. Once there, it seems to take a while to get out. I spend too much time kicking myself. This leads to more bad behavior which only serves to perpetuate the slump.
That’s the trap Satan wants me to fall into and the one Jesus came to destroy. I haven’t really researched this, but it seems to my there is a lot of reference to roads when the bible speaks of our spiritual journey. Even the word “journey” purveys structure to move on. It makes sense, to me, to smooth out my path, to make the journey easier.
I can do that by filling in the low places, but how? For me, I can really kick myself for falling back into my besetting sin which only serves to perpetuate it. The simple answer is to start making wise choices. Yes, Jesus is the one who delivers me from sin. I’ve learned all too well the lesson that I can’t remove my sin on my own. The sooner I turn to Jesus while in my rut, the sooner he’ll get me out of it. Again, yes, I have free will and the ability to make my own choice, but Jesus is the one who has broken my chains.
Giving credit where credit is due seems to be very important. This goes for the highs of my journey as well. The two weeks before this past rut, I was running at a spiritual high. I was sharing the gospel with lots of people and was enjoying the blessings that come with that. Perhaps I was getting too smug about it, I don’t know. I know I was pushing a lot of people to share the gospel. Perhaps I was taking too much credit for those circumstances for myself. Maybe I was forgetting I am just a hired hand and thinking I was more than I am. I don’t know. What I do know is that the wrong attitude can ruin good actions.
So, it’s a matter of smoothing the road. Fill in the low places and trim off the highs. That’s where I’m at today. Leveling everything out. Why is this important? Because God has more responsibilities for me – and for you.
Jeremiah 12:5 “If you have raced with me on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
You see, the journey isn’t over. There will be other rough places to smooth, some perhaps much rougher than any before. I need to know how to work on roads.
Father, thank you. Amen.
Copyright © 2020 Scott Powers