Detouring and the Thorn. By Matthew Scott
This day, not tomorrow, we need reflect on the years before and where we were and how merciful and amazing our God is to have brought us to where we are today.
At times when the passage of time goes on long enough without us just stopping to take it all in we can be blindsided by the amazing metamorphosis our lives have taken. Personally I like stopping and taking inventory of where I am, where I need to be and where I want to be, and then following up with my Father in prayer as to where He's leading me. Many times I find I've taken a small detour off the straight path however suddle.
You see, God has a path laid before us to travel that He designed for us to follow. Not pre-destination but the straight and narrow as well as the most blessed path. But because we have been given free will and we are not perfect He knew that we would take many detours off the main road. He still has His hand of protection over us on the detour but it is slightly lifted so we can feel the sting or the proverbial finger in the light socket if you will. This is allowed not only to build character but also to remind us that apart from Him we can do nothing and to steer us back to Him. Discipline is a necessary part of growth. Because He works all things to the good of those that love Him (Romans 8;28), He uses those experiences to grow and temper us closer into what He designed us to be. Which begs the question; well if that's the case then wouldn't that detour be part of the straight path He intended for us to follow? This is where not leaning on our own understanding becomes very relevant and trusting Him becomes vital. His way's are not our way's, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9). Not only does He use the detour to sharpen us but He also goes before us to clear a path so we don't stumble on debris in the road. And what's even more awesome is that He is the redeemer of time. Meaning all the time we wasted and blessings we missed on that detour can be restored fully once back on the straight road. What an awesome God we serve!
From an outsider's perspective they may perceive that I've lost everything. In reality by losing and letting go of much I've gained everything. We don't own our possessions, they own us. I'm not Gnostic so I'm not saying all matter is evil but I am saying that stuff can hold us down and keep our mind on things other than what is eternal, lasting and what really matters. God want's us to be prosperous and have the desires of our hearts if those desires are not set up as idols taking precedence above Him. Have you ever stopped and looked and what you really need? I understand that those with spouses and children need a lot more than I do but even then we could get by with so much less. In America we are a nation of mass consumption, even of things that last us years and years like vehicles. We always have to have the nicest and newest thing that our nice, new, large HD TV say is the latest and greatest. Then the media drives us to buy stuff we don't need to stimulate an economy that wouldn't be as jacked up if we didn't spend all our money before we get it via credit cards. We feel societally inadequate if we don't keep up with the Jones'. Don't get me wrong, there are things I like to keep up with like computers and Phone's, so I have picked my battles there but these are also tools that can make us money, keep us connected to friends and family and are great avenues for ministry. Hence the way this writing reaches you. I could write a long spiel on this but this is not the topic for now so I'll move on.
Off the bear trail. Many things can detour us from the right path including "stuff". Lol. My reference to others perception as to where I am now is in regard to my life of before. I was married, owned a successful business, had lot's of expensive toy's and I was miserable with monthly debt for a ridiculous amount of stuff I didn't need. Now I'm 31, divorced, living with my folks at least for this semester while I go back to school and hardly own a thing. After the shock, re-grounding and re-focusing from two years of pondering why things happened the way they did I'm quite content with only what I need and have. I see now that the whole precursor to this as well as the time to re-learn who I am and what I'm to do was all part of the detour I took that has made me who I am and has given me the knowledge of where God wants me to go. And I'm so thankful for His direction after suck an intense time of darkness to abide in. God has actually taken away the majority of the pain and darkness from the severing of my former life and has filled me with such a desire to pursue Him and His purposes that I'm already a different creature even before the crossing into tomorrow's plans that He's made clear. The pain was necessary. I wouldn't know what I do now without it and I would have completely forgotten who I was had those trials not awakened my emotions and numbed heart through grief.
There are things we pick up spiritually and emotionally on these detours that can either benefit us or hold us down. Usually on a detour off of God's path we pick up the things that hold us down.
It never feels good to endure loss, letting go of things loved, being humbled and forcefully starting over. This is not an outward choice we would consciously make but rather a series of potential outcomes from the choices we did make. It hurts like hell and will until it's purpose is achieved. But it is a good place to be because The Lord can re-create us. 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 explains it better than I can,
(2 Corinthians 12:8-10 Amplified Bible)
8Three times I called upon the Lord and besought [Him] about this and begged that it might depart from me;
9But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!
10So for the sake of Christ, I am well pleased and take pleasure in infirmities, insults, hardships, persecutions, perplexities and distresses; for when I am weak [in human strength], then am I [truly] strong (able, powerful in divine strength).
In these verses Paul was seeking The Lord to remove whatever the thorn in his side was. Something that perplexed and troubled him greatly that would not leave him. Then God answered him and gave him revelation. This sounds crazy to someone who's never experienced God in this way but our trials and troubles are really a thing of good when we come out of the furnace of tempering. We should embrace those times and look forward to whats on the other side. But as we come out of tragedy we must also permanently place the past in it's rightful place, physically by removing shrines and spiritually by cutting the ties and not looking back. Let the past be done and and embrace who you are today. So Father, I am thankful for that time and I thank you that for now that season is closing as the Spring of life blossoms as I enter the promise of tomorrow and I pray we all are given the grace to enter tomorrow with renewed hope and the strength only You can provide.
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