"Come and let us walk in the light of the Lord." Isaiah 2:5
Heather and I just started reading a book together called "Just Enough Light for the Step I'm on" by Stormie Omartian. The first page turned a light on for me. Here's what I read.
"Just Enough Light" Sometimes only the step I'm on, or the very next one ahead, is all that is illuminated for me. God gives just the amount of light I need for the exact moment I need it. At those times I walk in surrender to faith, unable to see the future and not fully comprehending the past. And because it is God who has given me what light I have, I know I must reject the fear and doubt that threaten to overtake me. I must determine to be content where I am, and allow God to get me where I need to go. I walk forward, one step at a time, fully trusting that the light God sheds is absolutely sufficient. How true do I find these words to be! Life is a walk. Each day we take steps. Our tomorrow is determined by the steps we take today. When Gavin was learning how to walk, he would hold my hand. I didn't want him to always have to hold my hand to walk. I would take my hands away and let him do it by himself. I would let him fall. I would let him get himself back up. I kept him from danger and other bad things (aka Tootsie). But overall, I knew it was very important for Gavin to trust in himself and in his ability. Am I doing a good job or what? I'm an awesome dad. I'm teaching him dependence. However, that is not what our Father in Heaven does. Let me have you read some excerpts from this book I'm reading and see for yourself.
Learning to walk with our Heavenly Father is somewhat different. He wants us to reach up and take His hand, but He doesn't want us to ever let go. In fact, His desire is that we become more and more dependent upon Him for every step. That's because He wants to take us to places we've never been. To heights we can't even imagine. In order to do that, we have to go through the low valleys, treacherous mountains, rough terrain, and narrow paths of life - places where we could easily get lost or off the track. And there is definitely no way we can just head off on our own and expect to arrive safely in the place He has planned for us. And, quite opposite of the way we teach our children, we will never know the joy of true freedom until we understand we cannot take a single step without His help.
But it's up to us to take the first step. If we don't, we will never learn to walk with Him. We can be so afraid of taking a wrong step that we fail to take any step at all. God didn't part the waters of the Jordan River for the Israelites until they first put their feet in the water (Joshua 3:15-16). That's because God always requires the first step to be ours. In order to take that first step, we must look into the face of God, reach up to take His hand, and say, "Lead me in the path You have for me, Lord. From this day on I want to walk with You. I take this step of faith and I trust You to meet me here. Align my heart with Yours."
Boy, how often do I refuse to walk each day one step at a time. I try to get to where I'm going in leaps and in bounds. It doesn't matter how far off track I get. Once I realize, again, that God's way is better, He will cut a straight path from where I am to where I need to be. I've also learned that once I've figured live out, God will lead to a place where my old tricks wouldn't work. It's like trying to do a Jedi mind trick to get you some spare parts, and it doesn't work. A new course for the resolution has to be found. Test the waters. It won't burn you (unless you step your foot in Ol' Faithfull and get a burst of steam). Tune it for my next post. I'll find something stupid to offset everything... |
Good words. I went to Rock Creek to look for some devotional material and so the book so I went ahead and got it. I also picked up 'Waking the Dead" by John Elderedge.
Thanks for all your help and support. Perhaps I need to give your blog a courtesy Star Wars makeover. Looks to Imperial at the moment.