Best Next Step

Finding Wings

Our family passed a milestone last weekend with our first wedding.  Our oldest daughter was married on July 3 and will now start living the rest of her life in a different family than ours.  This is a time of great excitement, much reflection and a little sadness.

And yet, for the past 20 years, we have been preparing for exactly this; getting her ready to go.  Here is the chorus to the Mark Harris song “Find Your Wings”.  This was played as parents and grandparents were seated before the ceremony.  It seems to sum up the task we had been given.

I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage to dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots and help you find your wings

This song highlights a critical distinction we must see to get parenting right.  It speaks of a basic premise that we have to be aware of to successfully prepare our children for the future.  The lyrics reflect a reality about the nature of our children that is of utmost importance for us to understand.

They are born with wings.

God beautifully and wonderfully created everything about them even before they were born (see Psalm 139:13-16).  Hair color, height, temperament and skin tone.  He also gave them wings that would carry them to the future He desires for them.

We walk along side of them helping them find their wings.  We watch as they flap their wings proudly for the first time.  We set up boundaries and safety nets so they won’t get hurt during their first takeoff.  We show them how to soar and experience what life is like when we fly according to God’s plan.

We don’t make their wings.  We don’t give them our wings.

We help them find their own wings.  And in doing so, we have the incredible privilege of joining God in shaping them into the person He created them to be.

In Him

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”  Ephesians 1:3

So begins an incredible passage of the Bible.  Paul opens the Letter to the Ephesians with a wonderful outpouring of praise as he recites all that God has done for us through Jesus.  Here is what we have to our benefit because of Christ.

We are blessed.  We are chosen.  We are predestined.  We are adopted.  We are given grace.  We are redeemed.  We are told the mystery.  We are chosen.  We have hope.  We are for His praise.  We are included.  We are marked.

There is much here to contemplate; much to ponder.  However, through all of this is the awesome truth that God, through Christ, has brought us into a relationship with Himself.  This relationship is not based on who we are.  Rather, God determined ahead of time that He would give us the privileged position of a son.  He chose to not only save us, but to bring us close to Him.

It would be like concern for the homeless.  It would be one thing to have a heart of compassion and another to get involved.  And getting involved could include everything from giving money to working in shelter.  But imagine not only caring and even doing something; imagine bringing a homeless person into your home.  Now take that even one step further; adopt that person as one of your children.

God didn’t just pick us up and dust us off.  He gave us a new identity in Christ.

So now our goal, our challenge, is to live in a way that matches our identity.  Paul says it this way in Ephesians 4:1, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”

I pray that today you would see yourself from God’s perspective; one that is complete and perfect in Christ.  Let this truth move deep into your heart as you realize all that God has accomplished in your life in Christ.  And then I pray that you would live in such a way as to bring your day-to-day life in line with your identity in Christ.

Following God

I love the Old Testament book of Joshua.  It captures the history of the people of Israel as they finally enter the Promised Land.  Joshua had faithfully served as Moses’ aide and now was the leader of God’s chosen people.  And as Joshua assumed this new role, he stood strong before the people because of God’s promise to him.  “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life.  As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  Joshua 1:5

Throughout the book of Joshua, we read about God leading His people to occupy the land He had promised Abraham many years earlier.  God led the people by leading Joshua.  Fourteen times we read, “The Lord said to Joshua…”  Joshua enjoyed a close, personal relationship with God; the very relationship God desires to have with you and me.

That’s why there is a section in the book of Joshua that is somewhat puzzling.  There is a story that doesn’t seem to fit.  It is summed up by this verse that seems to really stand out.  “So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord.”  Joshua 9:14

“They did not consult the Lord.”

How did this happen?  Why did this take place?  What were they thinking?

God had faithfully led Israel throughout the ages.  He called Abraham, worked through Isaac, wrestled with Jacob, provided for Joseph and guided Moses.  Now, Joshua was the man and God had been leading him step-by-step through the early days of Israel taking possession of the Promised Land.  Starting with Jericho, God was taking out the enemy one-by-one.  His people stood in awe of His power and strength.  Now, this matter of receiving a people from a distant land seemed only to be a small issue.

And yet this time Joshua acted on his own.

Now before I try to straighten Joshua out, what about times in my life when I’ve acted on my own?  When I look back, I see that God has faithfully led me through the years.  I can point to times, even before I committed myself to follow Him, that His hand has been all over my life.  So what changes in me that I move forward without consulting the Lord?

It appears that there are times when I simply act as if I know what is best.  There are seasons when I feel that everything depends on me.  There are decisions that seem to make sense in my mind.  Simply put, I choose to act on my own.

My challenge, and I’m guessing it’s your challenge as well, is to walk closely with the Lord day-by-day; to follow Him one step at a time.  Not only when the issues are big, but also when the issues are smaller in nature.

I pray for you, and for me too, that we would walk closely and listen well as we journey with God every day.

Do What You're Told

I’ve been in the business of raising children since 1989.  Actually, it was 1989 when I started raising my own children.  I had been raising the children of others since 1983 when I graduated from college and started my career as a teacher and school principal.  One of the great joys of interacting with children is when they actually do what they are told.

 

The roles of adult and parent are full of challenges and difficulties.  Teaching children to respond with immediate obedience is one of the most important yet one of the most elusive pursuits.

 

Through the years, I’ve learned a lot about myself and my relationship to God through raising children.  I have glimpsed into the depth of God’s love for me when I consider how much I love my children.  I’ve realized that God indeed wants the best for me when I see what I want for my children.  I have recognized that I don’t understand God’s perspective when I try to tell my children that there are things I see that they don’t.

 

And I’ve learned the value of doing what you are told.

 

It’s interesting how the issue of immediate obedience is important to us as we parent, but not nearly as crucial as we follow God.  We find ourselves saying to our children, “I’m not going to tell you again” but read the same passages in our Bibles over and over without a change in the way we live.

 

For me, more times than not, I find myself in the Lord’s presence dealing with the same issues again and again.  What would it be like if I just listened to what He said?  What would happen if I did what I was told?

Red Sea or the Jordan River?

Throughout the history of the Nation of Israel, God had faithfully led His people.  As they came to critical junctions in their journey, God made His way known to them.  Two great examples of this are found as the Israelites were ready to move through bodies of water.

Soon after leaving slavery in Egypt, the Israelites were face-to-face with the Red Sea.  With Pharaoh’s army in hot pursuit, it looked like Moses and the people were trapped.  But God gave His people direction through the words of Moses.  “Do not be afraid.  Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today.  The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.  The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14

Stand firm.  Be still.  God told His people to wait and see what He would do.  God parted the water and the people went through on dry ground.  He opened the path for them to follow so they could stay on course with Him.

If you fast forward several years, we find God’s people on the banks of the Jordan River.  This is the second time they have been there.  The first time they failed to listen to God and spent the next forty years wandering around the desert.  This time, however, they were ready to follow Him.  But what were they supposed to do?  The Jordan was between them and the Promised Land.

I wonder if Joshua thought about the last time Israel was held up by a body of water.  At that time, they simply had to stand firm and be still.  They waited and God clearly showed the path they were to take.  Is that what they should do this time?

The answer is no.  Even more than no, the answer was exactly opposite as last time.  Before they stood, waited and walked through on dry ground.  This time, someone was going to get wet.  God would wait for them to take the first step.  “Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’” Joshua 3:8

As I face junctions in my life, the question seems to be, “Am I waiting for God or is He waiting for me?  Is this the Red Sea or the Jordan River?”  And while I wish I could tell you I’ve discovered the secret to knowing the difference between the two, I can’t because I haven’t.

But this one thing I have learned.  When I’m faced with making decisions, God makes it clear that He is with me.  Now, sometimes, what I wish what was clear was the answer to my question.  By I wasn’t created to have a relationship with someone who could answer my questions.  I was created to have a relationship with Someone Who loves me, knows me, and invites me to know Him.

And that’s better than an answer any day.