This Long and Winding Road
Facebook is a great way of finding old friends you haven’t seen or spoken with in years. In my case, some of the friends I’ve found here are from 40 to 50 years ago, when we went to high school or college together. Some are immediately recognizable, even though their smiles hide behind wrinkles and grey hair (sometimes less hair). Ageing is natural, but I still shock myself every time I look in the mirror expecting to see this young 20-something guy I used to be!!! Hahaha. Wake up to reality, Monte!
What I can’t see in the pictures my friends post are the many days of struggle, joy, personal victories, and setbacks each of them have endured. I know from my own journey there are all kinds of memories, experiences… all kinds of days that we go through to get where we are now. These are what form us. They contribute in one way or another to helping us become who we are and will be.
So, who are we becoming? What are the values, choices, and events that have shaped us?
We can’t always control the circumstances we find ourselves in. Many things that happen along the road of life are entirely out of our power to change. But what we can control is the attitude we‘ll face them with. We have that choice.
Many years ago, during my freshman year at John Brown University, I had a major setback in my life. At least, that’s what it looked like at the time. I had made plans, but they didn’t turn out as I thought they should have. I was heartbroken… no, I was crushed, devastated.
I reached out to our campus pastor Dr Carl Kelly Bihl, for understanding. Tears rolled down my face as I told him of my “perfect plan” of how God should use my life… and it was failing completely.
Dr Bihl listened patiently and then shared two verses with me that have carried me through the many, many bumps and turns in my life:
Psalms 37:4 (NIV)
Take delight in the LORD,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.
And
Proverbs 3:5,6 (NIV)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to Him,
and He will make your paths straight.
This long and winding road through life is sometimes rocky, uphill, downhill, and smooth…but hardly ever straight.
Here’s the thing. When we come to the end of our road (the end of our resources, reasoning, tinkering, conniving, abilities…) and ask for help, He is there. Waiting and ready to help. And often, not in the way we would have thought.
The very thought of knowing (not just intellectually, but the deep-down conviction in our hearts type of knowing) that there really is a God who loves us and wants the best for us is an amazing treasure to comfort us in the storms of life. To realize that no matter what is happening to us, no matter what the circumstances surrounding us are trying to say to us, no matter what our friends tell us, our loving and powerful God has a tight grip on our hand, and He will not let us go.
Another passage I love:
“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture.” Romans 8:31-35 (The Message)
Life is tough… but God is tougher.
The future is unsure… unless it’s with One who knows the future.
Life’s not fair… but God is good… always.
We can’t always see the bumps and turn… but He does, and His hand will guide us safely along if we’ll let Him.
On earth, life is terminal… but with Him, eternal.
One of the wonderful things about knowing Jesus – as my Savior from all the crap I’ve done along my journey – is this… There is hope. And not just hope, but a promise.
“That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. God knew what He was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as the life of His Son.” Romans 8: 28,29
(The Message)
Don’t give up. He’s got this…and He’s got you!!