The other day I was driving home from work, just like so many days before. I was driving a route that I drive every single day. It had become so routine, so automatic, that I thought to myself, "I could probably drive this with my eyes closed." Except for one thing... stoplights.
As much as I loathe getting stuck at a stoplight, they do serve a necessary purpose. They make driving safe, controlled, and to some extent, easy. When you approach a stoplight, you instantly know exactly what to do. If it's red... you stop. If it's yellow... you slow down (or speed up, depending on how late you are). And if it's green... you go. As I sat at yet another stoplight I thought, "Wouldn't it be great if everything in life had its own stoplight?" Think how easy making decisions and plans would be. All you'd have to do is ask... "Should I do this? Is this the right decision?"... and BAM... green light... you've got the go ahead. How great would that be? And then I started thinking, what if God used a stoplight? What if that's how He chose to communicate with us?" All we'd have to do is ask, "God, is this what You want from me?" Is this the path You want me to take?"... and BAM... an instant, clear and unmistakable answer. Unfortunately, that's not how it works. That's not how God works. He doesn't give us a stoplight, He gives us faith. And unlike stoplights, faith requires no site at all.
There is this wonderful verse in Hebrews that gets to the core of what faith truly is. "By faith [not sight] Abraham... obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going" (Hebrews 11:8). This passage is referring to Abraham up and leaving his homeland, his comfort zone, that place of content, and enter a new place, a place of uncertainty and unfamiliarity. Why? Because God told him to. Now, the part that gets me is that Abraham followed God's command, blindly... not knowing where that journey would take him... but trusting in God to carry him through. In a time before GPS or Mapquest, that must have taken a tremendous amount of faith on Abraham's part. Too many of us want to see our entire way through a new journey before we even begin. Imagine if we had the ability to see our way from beginning to end. How would we ever develop faith and trust in God to lead us every step of the way?
The author L.B. Cowman wrote, "Remember, after the words 'In the beginning' comes the word 'God.'" Since the beginning of time God has asked us to take a step of faith and depend on Him... not ourselves. Or as it says in the Bible, "With all your heart you must trust the Lord and not your own judgment. Always let Him lead you, and He will clear the road for you to follow" (Proverbs 3:5-6, CEV). There will be times in your life when God will give you the green light and say "Go!" And we will have to rely on our faith that does not see but believes... believes that if God is the one sending you on this journey, He'll be the one bringing you home. Don't let opportunities pass because of a fear of the unknown. Change can be a scary thing, but regret is even more haunting. Think about all the lost opportunities while we sit around deliberating after the light has turned green. Make the most of every opportunity God presents to you, knowing that He is with you. Although He doesn't use a stoplight, God still gives us direction. He gives us the Holy Spirit that whispers His will in our hearts and minds. It's up to you to pray and to listen to the Spirit's guidance. I pray that we would all possess the faith of Abraham, the faith to put our whole trust in God, and when God calls us to set out on a new path or tackle a new challenge or take our faith to the next level, we would go with the peace and joy that only He can offer. Happy May!
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