journey onWord with us

It snowed and was very cold all winter, and now the rain just keeps coming and coming. Do I sound like someone in the depths of discouragement? There are days! And to top it off, one of the unintended consequences of a cold and snowy winter is potholes. Just yesterday my wife was talking to a woman about stopping by her house, and the nice woman remarked, “My street is full of potholes.  Be careful.” Now to be honest, I can handle the weather, but there are times (like this week) that I feel my life is full of potholes of my own making.  As I traverse the highways of my life, it seems that I hit those annoying potholes that alter my spiritual alignment.

Like you, I have been reading the words of Jesus this year, and there is no doubt that He handled the highway of life with magnificent grace. There were ample opportunities for Him to condemn a wayward soul, ignore needs and focus on Himself, but He lived each day to the fullest, navigating the potential potholes along the way. Of course He did! He was God! But for anyone who truly knows Christ as their Savior, rest in the fact that Christ will lead us on our personal highway of life through the power of His Holy Spirit. We won’t miss all of the potholes, but navigating through life with joy is possible.

Earlier this week, I drove into a pothole that threw my spiritual alignment off for almost a day. Without going into detail, I will just say that I made a mistake and got totally irritated with myself (has that ever happened to you). My wife even asked me that night, “what’s wrong?” Don’t you hate that question when you are in a bad mood? I chose to fume at myself instead of releasing my burden to the Lord. Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders- he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out. He’ll never let good people topple into ruin. Psalm 55:22(MSG) I knew better, and pouting and being frustrated kept me in need of a spiritual alignment.

The next morning I was a little better, (but still weaving down my spiritual road a little out of balance) when someone gave me words that hit home. The problem was they were the same words I had written about two days earlier. I was telling the individual about my mistake and for some reason he turned and looked at a plaque and quoted it (he had not read my article), “Good morning, this is God. I will be handling your problems today.” How easily I had gone from well-meaning words to hitting a pothole, throwing myself out of balance, pouting and wasting valuable time.  But in God’s timing, my friend’s recitation of words helped bring balance to my spiritual bearings.

Your highway is different from mine, but there are undoubtedly potholes along the road that you need to navigate as well. The words of Jesus and meaningful quotations can help you navigate the spiritual highway that is your life. However, biblical truth and words of wisdom need to be applied, not just quoted.  How is your spiritual alignment this week? Have you hit any potholes?

I know the Truth, I know Jesus and I love meaningful quotes. But for a day this week, I let frustration with myself throw me out of alignment. Can’t blame the pothole!  The Father has gently brought me back into balance. I trust you are driving well today. If not, listen to His Spirit’s leading … and drive well!