A favorable wind

If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable. (Lucius Annaeus Seneca)

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline; don’t sulk under his loving correction. It’s the child he loves that God corrects; a father’s delight is behind all this. (Proverbs 3:5-12)

I have been guilty of 'setting out' before considering the 'destination' - how about you? We might do this more often than we think. It may not be us setting out for a physical destination as much as going places in our minds we should not be going, spending without considering the expense, or even just lollygagging around the house when we know there is stuff we should be doing. Destinations matter - they should not be taken lightly. Trying to figure out 'how' we got somewhere AFTER we are already there is harder than considering the way we are headed BEFORE we set out on the journey. Give God the first and the best - this seems like it should be easy, but what 'first' was the last thing you gave to God? What 'best' was dedicated to him and not to ourself or someone else? Time, talent, finances, and even our thoughts - the best and the first - they belong to him.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart - the journey made with him is better than the journey made without him. The journey 'back to him' simply because we did not consider his direction FIRST is harder than the one we take with him. In school, the firefighters came and taught us what to do when there was a fire in our home. They taught one simple thing that has stuck with me through the decades - stop, drop, and roll. You probably have heard it, said it, and maybe even seen it save a life. One thing - considered for just a moment - made an impression that was enduring. I wonder what God might do in us with just one moment of wisdom we receive at his feet. Could it make a 'life-long impression' in our souls and spirit that would keep us throughout all our decades?

We aren't kept on track by happen-chance. We are kept on track because we considered the direction we should take with our time, talent, finances, and thoughts by ask God's wisdom BEFORE we took on the first leg of our journey - and kept on seeking his direction as the journey progressed. Have you ever had that 'check' in your spirit that makes you a little unsettled with whatever you are doing? That is God, my friend, telling you the destination is compromised, not exactly right for you, or pursued in the wrong timing. We need to heed God's 'little checks' as well as we heed his bigger ones! It could be the thing that keeps us from heading into disaster. Just sayin!