ANOTHER DETOUR?!
by Rochelle Roots
Psalm 119:1-3 from the Message reads:
“You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You’re blessed when you follow His directions, doing your best to find Him. That’s right – you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set.”
Well, perhaps some of us have made an inner-heart new year resolution to follow God better this year. It would be great if we ALL lived our lives right on course with God all the time, but the truth is...sometimes we stray. Some time back, when I was on my home after work. It was cold, rainy, and it was Friday, so I just wanted to get home! Well, right before I was to get on the highway from downtown, the policemen were detouring traffic to a different direction. So, here I was in my truck thinking....there has to be a faster way. I thought “If take this other way around, I’ll beat the slow traffic in front of me.” So instead of being still and patient, here I go and take a different detour. Then I notice that the traffic on that road is also being held up. So then I took ANOTHER detour in an attempt to beat that traffic. Finally, I came to a stop sign and realized, in my attempt to rush home, I’ve made myself MORE late. Then I hear this little bell. Ling..ling..ling. GREAT!! My gas tank is empty. What else could I do, but pray. “Lord, get me to a gas station please!” I finally got on the highway, found a gas station and headed straight to the gas pump. It took me more than twice as long to get home. Why? Because I strayed from the course mapped out for me. I went off on my own and ended up in a worse situation.
This year as you seek God’s leading, be patient and let me tell you...it’s not easy! Our tendency is to become impatient with God, go off on our own and take a detour after detour which causes us to end up with our gas tank empty, and then we’re desperate cause you’re on fumes. Maybe you’re on a detour right now....life’s thrown you a curve and you don’t know what to make of it. It could be something at home or at work or you’re struggling financially or having a difficult time in your marriage or another relationship...or just plain facing something hard. It might be a test so be patient. Sometimes God allows these detours to show us something different....perhaps even to test and refine our faith. The way home isn’t always going to look the same, but doing it God’s way is WAY better than doing it our way. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways! Isaiah 55:8,9
In another verse from the Message, Psalm 66:8-13 says
“Bless our God, oh peoples! Give him a thunderous welcome! Didn’t He set us on the road to life? Didn’t He keep us out of the ditch? He trained us first, passed us like silver through refining fires, brought us into hardscrabble country, pushed us to our very limit, Road-tested us inside and out, took us to hell and back; Finally he brought us to this well-watered place.”
So, I ask you. Have you been on any detours lately? How full is your gas tank today? Need to fill up? Go to God in prayer and seek Him in His word. Go to church every chance you get. God WANTS to fill us and keep us full. It is us who need to stop at the pump and fill up. So, please open your heart and mind to His Holy Spirit and allow Him to guide you even when the direction He’s leading may be a little different than what you’re used to so you can stay on course!
Prayer: Lord, forgive me for wanting to do things my way. Help me to trust you even when I can’t see where you’re leading me. You know what’s best for me. Help me to be patient and be obedient to your leading because your way is always better than mine. Amen.
NEED REPRESENTATION?
by Rochelle Roots
Working for an attorney gives me the great opportunity to meet all kinds of people. I have met people who are well known and well connected in the community and then I have met those who would be considered the lowliest in the community. Yet, they both come seeking representation in some form or another. Just the other day, a gentlemen came in to meet with the attorney next door. I noticed something distinct about him. To put it nicely, he smelled quite strongly and it wasn’t his cologne. As he waited, he paced back and forth in the lobby and couldn’t seem to be still. After a few minutes, the attorney came out and met with him and discussed his case briefly and copies were made of the paperwork he had brought and his contact information was taken. He was a nice gentleman and was soon on his way, but his presence lingered in our office if you know what I mean. I thought to myself what could have been the reason(s) for this troubled yet nice man to smell? Obviously, he had not taken a bath in a few days, but was there more? Did he have a substance abuse problem? Did he really have a home? My heart ached for him and I said a prayer for him that day.
This incident reminded me of us. Yes, us as in you and me. How often have you and I needed representation from our Lord Jesus because of something we have done or was done to us that caused grief or sorrow. 1 Timothy 2:5 calls Jesus our mediator. Sadly though, many of us feel angry or condemned by the accuser’s allegations that we don’t come to God in prayer seeking forgiveness. We desperately need His representation in the matter, but we feel bitter, ashamed, unworthy, dirty or maybe even stinky. Yet, in Hebrews 4:16 we are encouraged to “...come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need." The gentleman I described above was a real person who had real problems and sought help for himself in his situation despite of his current state...and we can do the same. We can come and come boldly before our heavenly Father and seek His help. I love how scripture calls it “the throne of grace”, not the throne of judgment, or even the throne of power. No, it is the throne of grace where we can find mercy and help. The best thing is that when we come to Him, he won’t let us leave the same way we came. As we are still before Him and confess our sins, He is faithful to cleanse us (1 John 1:9) and remind us that in Christ, we are His righteousness. We can change the state we’re in, because the accuser cannot dispute the blood of Christ that makes us clean and justifies us before God.
So come, come boldly. Be still before your God and allow your mediator Jesus to stand in the gap for you and dispute the accuser on your behalf. No need for shame before the throne of grace.
Prayer: Dear God, I come to you today in need of your grace. Help me to trust you enough to come before you with everything in my life...the good, the bad and the ugly. Your grace is sufficient for me. I confess to you that I need your forgiveness and help me to forgive others. Cleanse me and remind me that through the blood of Christ I stand justified before you and the accuser has no place in my life...in Jesus' name!!