I Will Show You The Way
Dear Friends,
Josh and Jess are settling back into a new year at secondary school. Josh is in his final year and Jess is no longer one of the new pupils as she's now in her second year. Jess, like me, is an introvert, and content in her own company. She does not have a lot of confidence and so finds it hard to speak up in class, preferring to sit back and let others do the talking. Having said that she shared something with me last week about an incident at school which showed how she is growing and maturing. I was so proud of her because what to many might not seem a big deal was huge for her.
When walking down a school corridor to her music lesson in MU2, she passed two new pupils asking a teacher for directions to their next lesson, music in MU1. Rather than continue on her way, Jess stopped and spoke to the teacher telling her that she was going in that direction and would show the girls the way to go. Jess and I continued to discuss this and she told me how she found it hard, when given directions, to remember all that she was told, and found it much easier when someone actually showed her the way to go. So that's what she did for these two girls. Despite not finding it easy to speak up, God gave her the confidence to do so. I also told her that God had placed her there at the right time so that she could provide help to the girls just when they needed it.
I told Jess what a great illustration it was to use in my next blog. (And yes, she is ok with me telling you, I have checked with her first!)
It reminded me of something Jesus said when he was talking to his disciples. Jesus said
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." John 14:6 (NLT) It is particularly the first part of the verse: "I am the way," I want us to think about today. Jesus is the one route to God, it is through him that we can come into God's presence, Jesus is the only way.
Not only that, Jesus does for us exactly what Jess did for the girls, Jess showed them the route to take rather than just giving them directions to find it on their own. God doesn't just give us a set of directions and instructions to follow, he came down to earth in human form to show us the way. He lived out the way of God on earth and he blesses us with the presence of his Holy Spirit in us, showing us the way. God the Holy Spirit is with us, right beside us, he goes before us as we follow, he guides us on the right path and he goes behind us as our protector. We can trust him with our life and trust him to take us along the right pathway. I love the verse in Isaiah 30:21 "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" (NIV) Another verse which has meant a lot to me over the past year or so is Psalm 32:8 "The Lord says, 'I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.'" (NLT)
He promises his comforting presence, but we have a choice to make, do we choose to trust God, believing he won't misdirect us or do we think we know better and want to direct our own way? The two girls had a choice to make - to trust Jess and go with her, or choose to use their own instincts, or wait to ask someone else they think might know better.
There will always be people around us, happy to give their opinion as to what we should do, where we should go, the route we should take. But be careful, ultimately, the only voice we should listen to is Jesus, he has promised us HE IS THE WAY. God knows you best, after all he created you and he has a specific plan and direction for your life, if you truly believe that then he is the only one to show you the right way to go and the right way to live.
This doesn't mean the journey will always be easy, there will be valleys as well as mountaintops, but whatever we face we can be assured that God walks with us as we place our hands in his and hear his voice saying "Come with me". What an encouragement to know that we never have to face anything, whether it's big or small, on our own.
To Think About:
What does it mean to you to know that Jesus shows you the way to walk?
What do you think God wants to say to you today about the direction you are considering? Will you choose to listen to his voice and follow where he leads you?
Spend some time meditating (pondering on, thinking about, chewing over) the verses I've mentioned, and what they mean to you.
There's a song I really enjoy singing at church, it's called "Guardian" by Ben Cantelon. The words of the song fit really well with today's blog theme. Please take a few minutes to click on the link below to listen to the song and read the lyrics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiRH8Hc8VQI
Vicki
Josh and Jess are settling back into a new year at secondary school. Josh is in his final year and Jess is no longer one of the new pupils as she's now in her second year. Jess, like me, is an introvert, and content in her own company. She does not have a lot of confidence and so finds it hard to speak up in class, preferring to sit back and let others do the talking. Having said that she shared something with me last week about an incident at school which showed how she is growing and maturing. I was so proud of her because what to many might not seem a big deal was huge for her.
When walking down a school corridor to her music lesson in MU2, she passed two new pupils asking a teacher for directions to their next lesson, music in MU1. Rather than continue on her way, Jess stopped and spoke to the teacher telling her that she was going in that direction and would show the girls the way to go. Jess and I continued to discuss this and she told me how she found it hard, when given directions, to remember all that she was told, and found it much easier when someone actually showed her the way to go. So that's what she did for these two girls. Despite not finding it easy to speak up, God gave her the confidence to do so. I also told her that God had placed her there at the right time so that she could provide help to the girls just when they needed it.
I told Jess what a great illustration it was to use in my next blog. (And yes, she is ok with me telling you, I have checked with her first!)
It reminded me of something Jesus said when he was talking to his disciples. Jesus said
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." John 14:6 (NLT) It is particularly the first part of the verse: "I am the way," I want us to think about today. Jesus is the one route to God, it is through him that we can come into God's presence, Jesus is the only way.
Not only that, Jesus does for us exactly what Jess did for the girls, Jess showed them the route to take rather than just giving them directions to find it on their own. God doesn't just give us a set of directions and instructions to follow, he came down to earth in human form to show us the way. He lived out the way of God on earth and he blesses us with the presence of his Holy Spirit in us, showing us the way. God the Holy Spirit is with us, right beside us, he goes before us as we follow, he guides us on the right path and he goes behind us as our protector. We can trust him with our life and trust him to take us along the right pathway. I love the verse in Isaiah 30:21 "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" (NIV) Another verse which has meant a lot to me over the past year or so is Psalm 32:8 "The Lord says, 'I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.'" (NLT)
He promises his comforting presence, but we have a choice to make, do we choose to trust God, believing he won't misdirect us or do we think we know better and want to direct our own way? The two girls had a choice to make - to trust Jess and go with her, or choose to use their own instincts, or wait to ask someone else they think might know better.
There will always be people around us, happy to give their opinion as to what we should do, where we should go, the route we should take. But be careful, ultimately, the only voice we should listen to is Jesus, he has promised us HE IS THE WAY. God knows you best, after all he created you and he has a specific plan and direction for your life, if you truly believe that then he is the only one to show you the right way to go and the right way to live.
This doesn't mean the journey will always be easy, there will be valleys as well as mountaintops, but whatever we face we can be assured that God walks with us as we place our hands in his and hear his voice saying "Come with me". What an encouragement to know that we never have to face anything, whether it's big or small, on our own.
To Think About:
What does it mean to you to know that Jesus shows you the way to walk?
What do you think God wants to say to you today about the direction you are considering? Will you choose to listen to his voice and follow where he leads you?
Spend some time meditating (pondering on, thinking about, chewing over) the verses I've mentioned, and what they mean to you.
There's a song I really enjoy singing at church, it's called "Guardian" by Ben Cantelon. The words of the song fit really well with today's blog theme. Please take a few minutes to click on the link below to listen to the song and read the lyrics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiRH8Hc8VQI
Vicki
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment