Where are YOU looking?
“It is faith without sight. When we can see, it is not faith, but reasoning. In crossing the Atlantic we observed this very principle of faith. We saw no path upon the sea, nor sign of the shore. And yet day by day we were marking our path upon the chart as exactly as if there had followed us a great chalk line upon the sea. And when we came within twenty miles of land, we knew where we were as exactly as if we had seen it all three thousand miles ahead. How had we measured and marked our course? Day by day our captain had taken his instruments and, looking up to the sky, had fixed his course by the sun. He was sailing by the heavenly, not the earthly lights. So faith looks up and sails on, by God’s great Son, not seeing one shoreline or earthly lighthouse or path upon the way. Often its steps seem to lead into utter uncertainty, and even darkness and disaster; but He opens the way, and often makes such midnight hours the very gates of day. Let us go forth this day, not knowing, but trusting.” ~From Days of Heaven upon Earth
So many choices, things, people, options, and venues surround us today and beg for our attention. They claim fame, fortune, prosperity, recognition, health, welfare, family, and more. With crayon-drawn maps, the world flaunts at us its little crooked stick roads with wobbly, lopsided projections of the nicest rest stops, exotic islands, and 5-star hotels. It attempts to entice us with the “best of the best!” and we follow along. In the midst of the business meetings, college, grocery shopping and the fun and games, along with the pitiful attempts at controlling our lives, we lose sight of where we should really be headed…and of what we truly want. Now, these aren’t bad things…until we let them control us. Because if we continue to look down at what the world has to offer we will lose sight of what is most important.
We fool ourselves into thinking we are sincerely happy, when in reality we hide our true disdain. We get so caught up in what everyone else is doing and how they’re doing it, and how we can then prove ourselves better. We give up eternal blessings, true joy, immeasureable peace, and so much more all because of the adament drive to live in a realm that gratifies our desire for “life, love, and the pursuit of happiness”. Sadly, we push to the side the perfect plan God has laid out for us. Satan is good at helping individuals believe that we know better than God and when things don’t go as we’ve planned he makes a way for us to blame God in an attempt to sever the trust we have in Him.
Trust me when I say that I KNOW life is hard sometimes. We go about trying to be happy and live a “normal” life, but then situations don’t go as planned, the party gets crashed, and our little world gets turned upside down. Honestly, I believe “hard” is just a mindset. True, our “adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8) But Christ has already said, “…Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail…” (Luke 22:31-32)
Lately, I’ve been wondering why (at 19 years old) 1. I don’t have a car, 2. I’m not doing the “typical college thing”, 3. I’ve lost my best friend, my family, and a few other things, 4. I’m currently unemployed, 5. I hang out with couples and individuals who are all at a thriving young age of at least 60, 5. and I watch game shows and do laundry for fun. Even to me that seems a little eccentric. And at times, it’s a bit discouraging. BUT, going back what the quote said at the beginning of this post, if I want to reach my final destination I need to constantly take my instruments and search for the unwavering Guide that is always there for me. I must get my eyes of the swirling sea around me and look above for my direction.
If I would stop worrying because I can’t see a lighthouse beam, if I would quit being distraced because I see only ocean and no pathway, if I would lay aside becoming fearful after not seeing a shoreline for a few months, then (and only then) will I be free to continually look to the Son for my direction.
I know by what means I am charting my course, but… Where are you looking?
~Brianna
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” ~Jeremiah 29:11