When Life is Like I-69

Last weekend, I drove my family down to Fort Wayne, Indiana so I could attend a reunion of teammates from my summer trip.  We'd been planning the reunion for several weeks and I couldn't wait to get there!  

What I didn't realize was that the route we took would change my perspective on life.

My mom navigated from the passenger seat, and she instructed me to take I-69 all the way to Fort Wayne.  To the untrained eye, taking I-69 does not seem like the best way (the quickest or most convenient) to get from eastern Michigan to northern Indiana.  She assured me from the start, however, that taking I-69 would be the smoothest, least complicated, and most direct way to get to our destination.

Trusting her judgment, since she's made the trip many more times than I have, I began to drive.  It wasn't long, however, before the irony began to set in.  To get to I-69, we had to drive north -- the complete opposite direction of where we wanted to go.  And once we merged onto I-69, we had to drive west!  

Again, I trusted my mom's judgment, but I couldn't help feeling tense as we drove westward, hour after hour, seemingly getting nowhere close to Fort Wayne.  It felt like a waste of time.  If we needed to go south, why did we have to go west?  Would the road ever turn south?  

Mom assured me it would.  Once we arrived in Lansing, she said, I-69 would curve around the city and we would begin to head south toward Fort Wayne.  Sure enough, about two hours into our trip, I-69 curved around Lansing and we were finally heading in the direction we had been wanting to go!  

My mind was very busy as I drove south for the next few hours.  

Life is often like I-69.  In our lives, we often have a deep desire to go a certain "direction", or to get to a certain "destination", but the route from A to B -- when taken on God's terms -- can defy rationality.  Why would God ask you to head the opposite direction?  And once you made the transition to the "route" He has planned for you, why would He set the course westward?  You're running parallel to the destination.  You are no closer to Point B than you were before!

Or so you thought.

See, my mom chose I-69 because it was the smoothest, least complicated, and most direct way to our destination.  She could have chosen the more common route, which was riddled with changing interstates, heavy traffic congestion, construction, and the stress that comes with navigating through large cities.  She chose I-69 because it was easier and more peaceful, (which she knew would benefit me because I'd never driven to Fort Wayne before). 
All along, we merely stayed the course.  We didn't have to change interstates or drive through congested cities.  We let I-69 take us all the way to our destination.

This is a beautiful picture of how God guides us.  He may lead us onto a road that makes absolutely no sense.  It may be frustrating.  It may lead us into a season of spiritual drought or silence.  It may feel lonely, like a desert.  We're heading west when all we want is to head south! We may begin to doubt God's logic -- which can spiral into doubting His goodness, His character, and His love.  

The world, the flesh, and the devil will tell you that while you're heading west, you are no closer to Point B than you were before.  All the angst, blind faith, and trust in the dark -- it's all a waste. 
But that's wrong.  You are much closer to Point B than you could ever dream!  It may not feel like it now, but if you truly trust God's heart toward you, you will see that the route He's chosen will take you directly to where He wants you to be.  

God's Point B may not be your Point B.  As I drove westward toward Lansing, I drew a comparison of the route to my own life since returning from my trip this summer.  I had to admit to myself that God's Point B might be drastically different than mine, and that He has made no promise to take me to my Point B.  All He has promised is that this road I travel (with my hand in His) will take me directly to where He wants me, wherever that may be. 
With this in mind, the road may keep going west!  It may turn north again, or it may even head back east.  Walk the road by faith and let Him decide which way the path will curve.  It may indeed take the turn you hope for and begin heading in the direction you desire! 

Remember why my mom chose I-69.  She knew that I had never gone this way before and wanted to take me the safest and least complicated way.  She chose I-69 out of compassion and love for me.
When God takes you a route you don't understand, remember that everything He does is motivated out of compassion and love for you!  Everything He gives, everything He takes away, everything He allows, and everything He doesn't allow are all colored by His faithfulness, His compassion, His protection, His mercy, and His LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
  
While you are on your own I-69, traveling a path you don't understand, striving toward a goal you cannot see, cupping your empty hands, trying to figure out how to hope . . . may I suggest a new prayer to pray?  It is just seven words long, but those seven little words can change your life forever. 

"Father, align my heart with Your will."  

Welcome to I-69!  Trust your Navigator.  Keep driving. 

Much at Stake: The Risk

"Why are you cast down, O my inner self?  And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me?  Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my sad countenance, and my God." - Psalm 43:5 (amplified)

While running errands with my mom today, I remarked, "Everyone is going through something.  In fact . . . it seems like no one is ever not going through something!"

Some of you may be enduring a season of storms. 

Others may feel like a tornado just ripped through your situation.  

Then there are those of you who feel like you've got Hurricane Katrina absolutely devastating you, ravaging your heart, annihilating your hope.

Lately, God's been directing me to address EMOTIONAL PAIN in these blog posts.  I pray they are ministering to someone as they have ministered to me.

If you're in a season of "Hurricane Katrina" pain, one thing you must realize is that pain is blinding.  When people say they can't see past the pain, they're telling the truth.  Because pain will never allow you to see anything but IT.  

Did you know you have 2 sets of eyes??  

The only way to see through a season of pain is to stop looking through our human eyes -- reasoning, trying to understand, trying to figure it out -- and instead open our heart's eyes, eyes of faith.  You will never be able to see clearly if you're walking through fog.  But the fog hovers near the ground, so if you were to climb a hill or a tall tree, you'd be able to see over it!  This is a parallel of how you can see with your "eyes of faith."  Trust will open those eyes.

Suppose God see you clinging to something that we shouldn't be clinging to.  Maybe He sees that it's not good for you to cling to it.  Maybe He has something better.  Or maybe He sees that it is good, but it's not time for you to have it.  Whatever the reason, He takes it away.  And you're absolutely devastated.

Catch this: God ALWAYS acts in the way that will do us the MOST GOOD and bring Him the MOST GLORY.  And above all, He acts in unfathomable love. 

Unfathomable love.

In your human mind you cannot possibly see how this could be used for good.  All you see is . . . well, nothing.  You're blind.  Blinded by the pain.

Out of God's unfathomably tender love, He chose to bring about the hardest thing, that "worst case scenario", knowing the unspeakable pain it would cause, knowing there would be many opportunities for Satan to use it to destroy you, or for you to reject Him (God) altogether.  In His love, He saw what the end result would be and decided it was worth the risk.  

Look at Jesus.  He sweated blood as He begged God to let the cup of suffering pass from Him (Luke 22:42, 44).  And yet He ultimately surrendered Himself to His Father's will.  God saw that the end result of Jesus's suffering would be YOUR ADOPTION into His family, and He decided it was worth it.  Think about all the prophesies about Jesus, how much hung in the balance! 

For example,"He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth." -Isaiah 53:7

If Jesus had opened his mouth, Satan would have won.  Something as small as that would have marred the way to our salvation.  Jesus was walking the ultimate tightrope. 

It was the ultimate risk.  

So what's risky about your situation?  Your response.  Suppose you have a child who is playing with something that is not good for them, or something they shouldn't have right now.  As a parent, you see what is best for your child and you lovingly take away that item.  The child is devastated.  In his mind, he cannot see that you have acted for his good.  He can't understand why mommy or daddy just took away his treasure.  He doesn't understand the purpose behind the pain.  What if he rebels against you?  What if he hates you and walks away?

"If the PURPOSE couldn't exceed the PAIN, the answer is NO." -Beth Moore

In other words, if God couldn't bring about a result that would exceed the level of pain it takes to get there, He wouldn't have taken away your treasure.  

But what if your child, with tears still streaming down his cheeks, turned to you, lifted his little hands, and in the only way he knew how, told you that he trusted you.  He doesn't understand why, but he knows you are good, that you would only act in his best interest, and that he is submitting to you.

Doesn't that stir your heart?  What do you feel in the moment?  Overflowing love?  Pride? 

Today as I drove home from school, I reflected on my own pain and, for the hundredth time, vocalized that I TRUST HIM.  In spite of my pain, in spite of my not being able to see the good yet, in spite of my own Hurricane Katrina, I trust Him to write my story.  I am handing over the pen.  

He whispered to my heart something I know He will speak to yours in that moment:

"My daughter, I am so proud of you."

The Line: A Message to Singles

"I would rather do Kindergarten thru 12th grade 100 times over than spend one day worrying about who I was going to marry," said Nathan, one of my college pastors, a husband and father of five.

I think some of us can relate to Pastor Nathan in this area.  Are you sitting alone today?  Is there no "significant other" in your life?  Just plain . . . single?  Well, as a single woman myself, let me encourage you with a few quick words -- a message God has laid on my heart as I've wrestled with this issue in my own life.

First of all, understand this: the desire for marriage and family is good.  It is biblical.  It is ordained by God and ingrained in most of our hearts as something to be desired.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to be married.  But the white blurs to grey when we make marriage an idol, enslaving our minds to wishes and wants instead of focusing our worship on our captivating God, from Whom all blessings (including marriage) flow (James 1:17).  Are we worshiping the blessing or the Blesser?

Second, know that God arranges marriages.  I used to constantly worry about when, where, how, and who until one day it finally clicked: If God wants me married, He will bring the right guy at exactly the right time, not a second later or sooner than is necessary.  It doesn't matter if we are across the country or across the world; He will shake Heaven and Earth to bring us together -- nothing can stop Him!  I began laughing at myself for getting so wound up.  God opened my eyes, unclenched my controlling little fists, and whispered to my heart, "I love you.  I am sovereign.  Trust Me."  I challenge you to join me here.

Thirdly, know that God lives in the past, the present, and the future (Rev. 4:8).  This is where the title: The Line comes into play.  When I asked Him about my future husband recently, God opened the eyes of my heart so I could see a white piece of paper with a line drawn on it.  My name was written on the left, and right next to mine, blurred beyond recognition, was another name.  I knew at once it was my future husband's name.  God moved my heart to realize He's already chosen my husband.  It's done.  Finished.  Decided.  It was written before I was born, even before he was born.  My husband's name was blurred because God knows that it is not time for me to know it yet.  When the time comes, I'll see his name clearly.  

So what now? you may ask. How does this change things?  It's gloriously simple.  There is absolutely no need to worry.  It won't speed things up!  The only answer is to realize that if God's plan for you is marriage, then your name is on a line too, and your spouse's name is written right next to yours, blurred for now.  All we need to do is practice Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight." 

So be encouraged, my friend.  You may be single right now and not like it, but soften your heart to what God is teaching you, and pray for your future spouse; God is teaching him/her too.  After you are prepared for each other, He will bring you together.  Remember, nothing in Heaven or on Earth can stop Him from acting at exactly the right moment.  He is writing your love story.  Keep turning the pages.  :)