Huh...so that's how I stay on course!

Oh, that my ways were directed and established to observe Your statutes [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them]! Then shall I not be put to shame [by failing to inherit Your promises] when I have respect to all Your commandments. I will praise and give thanks to You with uprightness of heart when I learn [by sanctified experiences] Your righteous judgments [Your decisions against and punishments for particular lines of thought and conduct]. (Psalm 119:5-7)

We are probably frequently heard crying out to God, asking him to set our ways straight again because for some unknown reason we have managed to stray from the path we should be on once again. Our plea - direct and establish my ways - not to live as I want, but to observe your Word in its entirety. A "directed" life is one that is both God guided and regulated, so the course is made certain and true. It is like when I used to ride the little cars at Disneyland as a child - I had no idea the metal bar which ran between the two tires actually was keeping me on my course! It was there for my safety and to keep me from playing bumper cars with passers-by. I just rode along like I was mastering the road and watching the world pass me by as I maneuvered the twists and turns. I thought I was driving - directing the course of the vehicle, while in fact, someone with a whole lot more common sense than to give control of a vehicle to a child had my safety in mind! The same is true of our lives in Christ - sure we don't have a metal bar between our "tires", but we feel his pull and tug of our desire to veer off course, don't we?

The metal bar on the car ride was there to act as a mediator - it pushed me back on course when I was about to 'veer off-course'. It "established" the course of the vehicle in which I was riding. I wonder if we actually realize how much God is "establishing" the course of our lives, not with a metal bar, but with his Word? As we hear the Word, taking in its richness and promise, it forms the basis for our travels in life. As I drove that tiny car along a designated track, unlimited power existed - but only as long as I stayed on the track! I could not operate those little cars off the track - there was something about the track which gave them the "structure" in which they were designed to be operated. Disney envisioned the ride as the freeway of the future - but kids just saw it as plain fun! God envisions the "track" he provides through the intake of his Word as providing the "freeway" for each of our future endeavors - wouldn't it be great if we saw his Word as just plain fun for our lives!

 
The little cars on that track also had one other feature designed for safety - they were "one-wheel" drive. In other words, one wheel actually moved the vehicle forward. Interestingly, God has the same vision in mind for us - that we be "one-wheel" driven! He is the one who is designed to turn our wheel - not just the one who designs the course upon which our lives will travel. The "drive" of our lives would be ugly if there were two wheels each pulling in opposite directions. Imagine the wear and tear on the other wheels! Not to mention the other working parts of the vehicle! No wonder God requires there be just one wheel driving our lives! I don't know about you, but when he drives, I get to my destination the first time! There was one other little feature in these cars which says something to me about how God's Word, taken in regularly, applied consistently to our lives, affects how we arrive at our destination. The pedal. To the unknowing this pedal resembled the gas pedal of a sports car. To the designer, it was both the accelerator AND the brake. The Word of God is kind of like both in our lives - accelerating us into times of growth, holding us back when the next movement would cause us harm. As you pushed on the pedal of those little cars, they moved forward under the drive of one wheel. As you took your foot off the pedal, they stopped - not gradually, but immediately - because the "drive" was disengaged. God's Word gives us this kind of protection - something we lack on our own. Maybe we should see the importance of the regular and consistent intake of the Word as it applies to keeping us on track in life. What we take in becomes important in determining the path it will lead us. Just sayin!

Changed course through changed heart

For people who are stumbling toward ruin, the message of the cross is nothing but a tall tale for fools by a fool. But for those of us who are already experiencing the reality of being rescued and made right, it is nothing short of God’s power. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

A survivor is one who has 'beaten the odds', coming out on the other side of something they had a hard time enduring. If God is the one who fights with us, helping us with our 'survival skills' in the midst of whatever it is we have been called to endure, then we can be assured that we will come out on the other side. Will we have 'war wounds' of some sort? Probably. We aren't guaranteed to be 'wound free', but we are promised to be 'held together' and 'put perfectly together' in the presence of Jesus. There are a great many of us that can proclaim we have been 'redeemed' - made new through the power and grace of God in our lives. We have undergone a process of transforming our hardened hearts into something that resembles and gives back a little bit of the grace we have received. Our 'survival' wasn't our own doing - we played a part in getting into the mess we were in, but the way out of that mess wasn't in our hands alone! God took us to the place where we'd recognize that thing we were struggling to survive within was really going to be our undoing if we continued in that course. In time, we called out for help and acknowledged how foolish it was to attempt to continue in our own self efforts.

There are still others who are aimlessly attempting to just 'survive' life. Their life is hard - it isn't joy-filled, or even exciting - it is just one tough day after another sometimes even tougher one. They cannot hold their heads up because the weight upon their shoulders is so heavy they are just totally weighed down under the stress of it. If this is you today, I have a little hope for you - God's forgiveness and restoration is what awaits you at the end of that tough road. It isn't far off - it is as close as your lips. It only takes your acknowledging you aren't doing things very well on your own - that you need him to step in and change your course. Look at what the course of the 'challenged' is like - it is a place of stumbling. There is but one person who can keep us from stumbling - Christ Jesus. We don't avoid everything we could stumble upon in life in our own efforts. That attitude of despair will creep up unless God keeps our heart at peace. The frustration of things continually going in the opposite direction as we would have desired will bring repeated pain until God adjusts our focus to see each frustration through his eyes. He 'frames' those things in a manner that helps us see how those 'frustrating things' are acting to refine us - they are like sandpaper that brings out the beauty of the grain deep within the wood.

One other thing to consider today - some of us want God to change the course rather than stepping into the course he intends for us. We want him to change the challenging circumstances - not our 'challenged' heart, our responses, or our faith. God isn't going to change the challenging course until we are willing to let our heart be changed first! Instead of continuing to stumble toward ruin, perhaps it is time to just halt in our path and ask God to turn us toward the place of our victory - to the place in him where we will overcome our frustration, set aside our fears, relinquish the need to be constantly controlled by our circumstances. God isn't going to force himself into our 'battle', but he stands ready to help us to become more than just 'survivors' through his power, peace, and presence. We choose to stumble on, or walk strong in him. Just sayin!

Is this the on-ramp?

Henry Ward Beecher reminds us, "We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started." A thing we often forget is that every journey requires a starting point. We sometimes get all caught up in the journey and forget from whence we came. We see the 'finish line', but completely disregard we had to cross the 'starting line' to even be on our way to the 'finish'. 

But He knows the course I have traveled. And I believe that were He to prove me, I would come out purer than gold from the fire. My foot has been securely set in His tracks; I have kept to His course of life without swerving; I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have valued everything He says more than all else. (Job 23:10-12)

I have not always traveled in a straight course - veering on occasion into places where complacency take me without even noticing. I have resumed my course on occasion without much effort, but at others I have found the effort it takes to resume when I have stopped is harder than I want it to be. Think about the last time you got away from a healthy eating plan. Now, think about how hard it was those first couple of weeks to get back on it. The 'starting' is hard, but the 'starting again' is even harder. Why?

It may be because we equate having to start again to failure. We didn't keep going, so we think we failed. The starting line never moved - neither did the finish line. We just got off-course a little and all we need to do is re-enter the path! My foot isn't always securely on the course he would desire me to take, but he knows the course I am traveling. Is it that he didn't 'keep me' from complacency? No, it is that I chose complacency because it was easier! 

How do we re-enter when we have drifted from course? Well, I think it is requires us to realize where we started to begin with, then where we will start again, and where that finish line lies. We look to where we started because it reminds us we really did come a good ways before we veered off-course. We look at where we will re-enter the course because it is a milestone (a marker) of where we chose again to 'enter into' obedience. We look to the finish line because it helps us remain 'forward focused'.

God knows your course as well as he knows mine. He has prepared for us to re-enter the course exactly where we veered from it in the first place. The thing we need to remember is that we take the first step back onto that course! He doesn't take it for us. Yes, he is right there to help us back up, giving us the wherewithal to actually move again, but we take the first step back onto the course! Let's not forget where we started, but let us also not expect 'excellence' every step of the way. We get distracted on occasion and need to remember God's grace is enough for us to re-enter right where we left off. Just sayin!

What? Go Where? Now?

Ever feel like a stranger some place you are not all that familiar with? I know when I travel to another state, the highways and even how the streets are laid out are different from the ones around home, so I feel a little like a duck out of water. When I must drive those roadways, I rely a lot on my co-pilot and navigator - my BFF. She tells me to turn, merge, and where to get off (in a nice way!). We have missed exits, gone out of our way, and even been lost a few times, but we eventually get situated again. She is generous with me - giving me a little grief for missing the turn-off, but then nudging me with a little giggle that tells me it will be okay - she will help me find my way back onto the right course. I am so grateful I have someone in my life to help nudge me back on course when I get a little wayward, but I am most grateful for God's continual direction and oversight in my life. Not for one minute does he take his eyes off my course - and not one minute does he fail to keep me safe!

Be generous with me and I’ll live a full life; not for a minute will I take my eyes off your road. Open my eyes so I can see what you show me of your miracle-wonders. I’m a stranger in these parts; give me clear directions. My soul is starved and hungry, ravenous!— insatiable for your nourishing commands. And those who think they know so much, ignoring everything you tell them—let them have it! Don’t let them mock and humiliate me; I’ve been careful to do just what you said. While bad neighbors maliciously gossip about me, I’m absorbed in pondering your wise counsel. Yes, your sayings on life are what give me delight; I listen to them as to good neighbors! Psalm 119:18 MSG

While I'd like to say I have never taken my eyes off the road I am traveling with him, it would be unfair of me to say something so far from the truth. The times I have taken wrong turns are innumerable, and the times he has had to 're-navigate' my path so I'd get back on course with him have been numerous. Thank goodness his love never gives up and never runs out! I am one 'needy' gal when it comes to grace, but he is one faithful grace-extender! When we recognize we need a navigator to keep us on course, that is the moment we begin to listen a little closer to the directions given and we pay a little more attention to those instructions. We are 'on alert' because we don't want to take another wrong turn!

Being on alert is not a totally bad thing - but we all know it can be a little exhausting at times. The more we have to 'pay attention', the more we find ourselves 'using up' energy reserves we have stored up by 'intake' at some point in the past. We need renewal of those energy reserves - time alone with God to renew and regenerate. We need time in his Word. We also need the submission of our will to just rest once in a while when we think we should be 'doing', 'doing', 'doing'. The rest we take actually allows us to re-center. Yesterday, I was faced with a challenge in some data that was not doing what it was supposed to do when I put it into the report format I wanted it to be in. You know what helped me? A bit of lunch with my BFF, a few laughs, and a short walk to re-energize my body!

The times we think we have it all under control are probably the times we most need to relinquish control! The moment I stepped away from the problem at hand, there was a 'clearing of the mind' that occurred. This is sometimes the very thing we need to be open to see the problem from a different vantage point. To see things differently, we often need to stop seeing them as we have always seen them! The simple fix to the problem at hand was really not all that hard once I could re-focus on what was causing the problem. The course we take sometimes isn't all that complex - it just requires us to be opened up to see it from the perspective God has of that course!

When we choose to listen, believe, and really begin to take action in a different direction, the solutions to whatever has been problematic in our lives can often be 'fixed' quite quickly. As with my BFF's urging to take the next exit, make a u-turn and re-enter the highway to return to the exit I missed previously is quite clear. The choice to act upon that voice is another matter. I can just stubbornly go on in the wrong direction, or I can merge over, take the next exit and find the new course she is setting out. Life is full of choices - maybe the hardest is just to listen and rest in the answers we are receiving. Just sayin!

Which way do I go?

Have you ever been lost? There have been times when I am heading to a particular destination along an interstate or back road somewhere and find I am all 'turned around' in my way-finding. I missed some sign somewhere along the way, or just plain didn't judge the distance correctly. I find myself back-tracking, looking again for the right way to go, or I might just give up on ever finding what I was looking for in the first place because it was just impossible for me to find without help! Much of the time in life we are on some kind of journey. We find ourselves kind of 'lost' sometimes, not because the way wasn't explained to us, or that we hadn't consulted the plan for how we'd get their several times, but because we misread, missed, or just plain didn't acknowledge the signs along the way.

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.  You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it.  Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; then I’d never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel.  I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.  I’m going to do what you tell me to do; don’t ever walk off and leave me.  (Psalm 119:1-8)

It is a comforting thing to understand the direction we are headed – to clearly know the paths we are to follow, the things to avoid. There are even times we head off in directions unplanned for us, venturing out on our own completely unaware of what lays in wait along the path we chose. It is a God-honoring thing to await his course direction – it is even more honoring to choose that course above any other. It is one of the hardest things to allow another to set our course, especially when we have created a 'picture' of the way we believe our course should be going! There is a sense of deep satisfaction when we stay on course – a deep sense of pleasure and contentment awaits us as we walk “steadily” on the road revealed by God. Happiness is a very elusive thing – it is conditioned on so many 'unknowns' along the way - things such as circumstance, the people in our lives, timing, and even the attitude of our heart at the moment. We seek happiness in the most amazing ways – through the pursuit of fame, fortune, or position; in some type of what we believe to be a meaningful relationship; and even in giving away all we possess because we heard this could bring us to a certain 'level' of happiness in life. All the while, true happiness appears to evade us and we are left empty, frustrated, and perhaps even filled with despair or disappointment.

The advice set before us is one of “walking steadily” on the course outlined by our God - a little harder than we want to admit when we have this thing called "self-will" to reason with along the way. The word used for God in this text is that of Jehovah – the God of divine compassion, who stands unchangeable in his promises, permanent in his tender care, and righteous. The course we choose in life is established, overlooked, and guarded by this very God of divine compassion and unchangeable character. We can walk steadily when we understand the care that has gone into preparing the course before us and the caring oversight that is ours as we traverse that 'established' path. To “stay” on course implies that we are continuing on, standing firm, and remaining in consistent pursuit of the course outlined by God. I think there is an even deeper meaning that we need to consider – that of enduring. Happy is the man or woman that “stays the course” or “endures” in the way. There is a great sense of inner satisfaction to have remained consistent under suffering without yielding to its pressures – to not give in to the hardships along the way - and each road has its own hardships, regardless of how small. Our consistency comes not in our own effort, but because of the power of our unchanging and consistent God. He is the one that gives us the ability to be firmly fixed in place, to be unfaltering in our movement. There is a resolute assurance that the course we walk is designed at the hand of our God - we have a direction established by God, but we need to choose to stay within the guidance of those directions. It is our fortune to stand with him along this course constant in our emotion, principled in our actions, and stable in our thoughts.

Along the path, we are commissioned to “do our best to find him”. What is our “best” – what does that look like? Some would describe “doing our best” as giving our maximum effort – I’ve even heard some describe it as giving 110%! To be painfully truthful here, I am not inclined to believe that I actually have more than 100% to give – so I am not going to stress that we somehow find an additional 10% to reach some “stretch goal” in our pursuit of God. Rarely do we even get to the 100% mark, let alone find an additional 10% we can muster up to go 'above and beyond'. I am challenged daily to be productive, to excel in some way, but rarely am I able to say that I have given “my all” in the pursuit of God. I daresay that most of us would find ourselves in that same condition if we were to truly analyze our walk with God. It is encouraging to realize that God only requires our attentiveness to his direction – that is how we “do our best” in serving him - we pay attention. We “pay attention” when he speaks, we “focus our will” on his, and we choose to be engaged in this course he has established for us. In so doing, we are placing ourselves on a steady path. What is God really asking you to "pay attention" to along this path you are travelling on presently? What is he asking for you to focus your will on - to be determined in effort and mind's focus? Until we can answer these questions, we probably will wander around pretty doggone aimlessly, even getting a little lost along the way. Just sayin!

Avoiding continual recalculation

I will praise the Eternal in every moment through every situation. Whenever I speak, my words will always praise Him. When I needed the Lord, I looked for Him; I called out to Him, and He heard me and responded. He came and rescued me from everything that made me so afraid.  (Psalm 34:1,4 VOICE)

In every moment - through every situation.  IN suggests while being fully immersed in the moment.  THROUGH connotes there will be an end to it, even though we may not see it immediately. I know from my own experience, some things just seem to hang on and on, never really appearing as though they will ever come to an end.  As I come to this realization, I have to recount these words - not everything will end as quickly as we may like it to end, but God is with me THROUGH it, while I am IN it, and therefore, I will be able to endure it.  I just need to learn how to navigate IN it so I am able to see my way THROUGH it to the other side.

Navigation is half the battle.  To navigate just means we have found our way through.  It means we have fixed our course and have a "fix" on the destination.  If you have one of those gizmos in your car which navigates you, then you are probably familiar with the prompt, "Recalculating".  This prompt comes on anytime we make a course determination which will adversely affect our ability to arrive at our destination as plotted out.  That voice in that computer doesn't know we are just stopping for gas so we will have the fuel to arrive without issue!  It can just detect when a course isn't what was established when we first asked for directions!

IN the moment, we make occasional stops for refueling, don't we? We do this because if we didn't we would not be able to get THROUGH the course we are traveling without issue.  God asks us to be as attentive to him IN the moment as we are as those moments pass and we make it safely from this moment to the next. We sometimes look back, recalling all he HAS done, but we forget to be cognizant of the fact he IS doing things on our behalf as we are IN the circumstances of life we are passing THROUGH.  Our psalmist just wants us to keep God in mind at all times - not to allow our focus to become fixed on the circumstance, but to remain on God IN and THROUGH all of life.

As I have mentioned before, where we fix our eyes determines the course (direction) we will take and what it is we will realize at the end of the journey.  Fix it squarely on the chocolate bar in the gift shop and you will eventually end up consuming it or something else to satisfy that sweet tooth!  Rarely do we fix our gaze on something and then not move toward it - if not physically, at least in our thoughts, intents, and emotions.  Even though it may not look like we are moving, the "wheels are turning" and some form of "navigation" is occurring fully dependent upon the destination we have established.  When our gaze is fixed upon Jesus, we are less likely to take navigational turns which will land us stranded along the way.  Instead, we might need to stop to refuel once in a while, but we won't veer far enough from the course determined in order to affect us reaching that destination!  

Praise centers our thoughts.  It helps us keep something in the forefront of our minds.  What dwells in the forefront of our minds frequently enough ultimately will help determine our focus.  Since destination is directly linked to focus, what we center our thoughts on often enough matters.  Just sayin!

Playing through!

I don't golf and you would not want to attempt to instruct me in this "fine art" of swing, stance, and aim!  I tried - once!  After about 4 holes and a hundred or so strokes, I decided there were other "relaxing activities" I might better pursue!  Don't get me wrong, I think it is great for those who actually manage to direct that tiny ball toward that tiny cup with great accuracy and untiring enthusiasm.  It is just not my "calling".  But...out of every experience comes some opportunity to learn a lesson or two.  So, although the course "challenged" me, there were lessons which came from the experience.  Once I actually decided to just stop "trying", I actually found the time out on the course quite enjoyable.  Peaceful, beautiful to the eye, and in a way, restful.  As I listened to the various other members in our foursome talk their way through the 18-holes, I heard some terms which actually began to speak to me of something quite unrelated to golf!  I kind of think Paul may have been a golfer - he actually describes Jesus making a "hole-in-one"!  Who, but a golfer, would actually speak that way???

It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God!  (I Corinthians 15:57 MSG)

So, I told you I learned some terms on the course which spoke of something of something quite different than the golf "language" they were intended to bespeak.  I actually did not learn what these terms meant until I looked them up later, but my curiosity was piqued on the course, so you know I'd head to the trusty "Webster's" with each term I just did not "get".  Here's some things I learned:

- Bunker:  I had always thought of a bunker in terms of what it meant to the military - a place of refuge, where you'd "dig in" and be able to be protected in the fight while being able to launch an attack of your own.  In golf language, a bunker is a hollow obstruction or hazard which contains sand.  Land your ball in there and it could take you a couple of strokes to actually get it back on course again.  The bunker in golf is purposefully placed in your path, not to protect you, but to present you with obstacles to getting your ball into the cup!  I kind of think the enemy of our souls has purposefully created bunkers in our lives - not as places of refuge - but as places of hazard.  Their design is to keep us away from being able to finish the course.  As I managed to find bunker after bunker (hazard after hazard), I was defeated in my quest to learn the sport of golf.  This may not seem like much to you, but when I took this to heart in a spiritual sense, it made sense to see those hollow places, innocent looking like a sandy little beach in the middle of beautiful green - but they contain challenge after challenge to overcome!

- Dog Leg:  Okay, this one kind of stumped me, but I got it when I thought it through.  The dog leg on the course is the fairway (long, grassy expanse) which turns to the right or the left.  The hole is somewhere at the end of the dog leg - but is not clearly in view.  The builders of golf courses purposefully place a few of these "dog legs" into the course to challenge the golfer.  The golfer really has no clear view of the hole, but they "drive" in faith.  I wonder how many "dog legs" have been purposefully placed in our lives just to get us "driving" in faith?

- Par:  To me, being at "par" was an impossibility.  It was a nice aim, but unrealistic for me.  Par is the "expected" number of strokes (times you hit that tiny white ball) to finish the course.  In my experience, the more I stayed on the course, the more the strokes added up!  I was nowhere close to par.  The thing I recognized - this was not the course I was supposed to be on!  It is more the course we are supposed to be playing "IN" or "ON" than the number of strokes it takes to get us through it!  I was defeated by the course - not by a lack of enthusiasm.  I took lots and lots of swings, but landed very few balls into the cup!  To me, par was impossible.  I came to see the "course" often stumps the player.  This is so true in our spiritual lives, as well.  When we are on a new course, every "swing" is like a total "faith thing".  We don't know exactly where the ball will land, but we take our best swings and hope to be reasonably close to "par" in the end.  

- Rough:  This is the place on the course with longest and thickest grass.  You don't really want your ball to land in the rough because hitting it out of the longer grass is much more difficult than hitting it off a tee!  You might not have as much control over the ball.  I learned the course is not made up of one type of grass, but many types.  The most common grass for the fairway is a longer grass.  Yet, this grass is not well-suited for the green (the place where the cup is).  Why?  It doesn't do well once it is cut short.  It is designed to be left a little longer.  On the green, they cut the grass very short because they are "carving" the grass to allow smooth passage to the hole.  I think God places us right where we need to be along our "course" in life.  Sometimes we find ourselves in the "rough" - in a little bit "deeper" than we might want to be.  Nothing on the course is there by mistake - even the "roughs" are there on purpose.  They are designed to help us direct our path a little differently the next time we take a swing!  

So, not exactly the most spiritual lesson on our passage today, but I think you might be able to glean a thing or two from my very limited understanding of golf terms!  Here's the truth - Jesus landed a "hole-in-one" - totally giving us the ability to live life "on par" with him!  Nothing put in his path caused him to give up - he finished the course.  His reward wasn't a greed jacket (like the kind a player wins at the Master's), but an inheritance - you and I!  Through his perfect completion of the course, he dealt with sin, guilt and death.  All for us - his inheritance!  Kind of glad he didn't give up on the course!  Just sayin!