Day 24 – Issue 21

Be Still Know

Philippians 3:13 NLT

‘No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead…’

A journey usually has a destination in view. The wonder of the Christian walk is that while the destination is clear, it changes the further we travel towards it. As a new Christian, I grasped that I was to follow Jesus, yet my knowledge, much less my understanding, was minimal. I was dependent upon the wise counsel and guidance of many who had journeyed a lot longer than I had. Slowly I discovered Jesus not only welcomed me but wanted to become my friend. The Jesus rooted in one historical period rose up to greet me in the here and now.

With increasing excitement I responded, encountered the person of the Holy Spirit and engaged increasingly with the Divine. However, my passage was often interrupted as I chose to divert and pursue interests that appealed to me, which I could often disguise as healthy Christian activity. Yet noble as such activities proved, they were simply distractions from my primary invitation to follow Jesus. The Gospel writers clearly reveal that Jesus’ own call to his immediate disciples was no more complicated than a simple, “Follow me.”

Disappearing down many rabbit holes and cul-de-sacs, I was reminded at critical moments that my principal purpose was to follow Jesus. Most activities when subjected to close analysis had more to do with my own need for recognition, status, purpose and value.

The journey is in fact simply to pursue the path that leads to Jesus. No ifs, no buts. As I paused and took stock to regain my bearings, the person of Christ became ever clearer, brighter and more alluring. My heart lost its appetite for many of those things that had charmed it. Insecurities, revealed for what they were, could be jettisoned. A confidence in the reliability of tradition and scripture grew ever stronger. My hunger to reach my destination, which is also my destiny, sharpened. God’s ways were no longer a matter of preference but the compass points by which I may safely navigate my way to God’s throne of grace.

QUESTION: Is the past keeping you from moving forward in your life?

PRAYER: Lord, I surrender to you my past, so you can lead me into what lies ahead.