"And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them;
and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice." (John 10:4-5 NKJV)
My husband and I recently had the privilege of visiting with a friend in Quebec
City, Canada, and as a result, we had our own, personal guide.
If you are not familiar with Quebec City, it is the only fortified city left in
North America - A modern city behind 17th century walls. Quebec City is also one
of the most (if not THE most) European-style city in North America. Rich in
history, there is much to see, and having our own personal guide throughout the
winding streets was more than a blessing.
Our friend was particularly sensitive to our wishes and desires. However as we
knew virtually nothing about the city, I found myself saying over and over
again, "You are our guide! We will follow you!"
Just after lunch, I found myself again saying these words. And they were barely
out of my mouth when I spotted a statue across the street, a memorial to General
Montcalm, the general who is credited with leading the army in the battle that
ended the Seven Years' War between France and Great Brittan on the Plains of
Abraham. As a result of the victory, all of "New France" - including the city we
stood in - was transferred into British hands. Naturally, this resulted in
Quebec later becoming part of Canada, and because I am interested in history, I
had to see the memorial. "Look," I said, running across the street towards the
statue. "There's the monument for Montcalm!"
As I stepped on the curb on the other side, I remembered the words that had just
come from my lips seconds before the monument came into view: "You are our
guide! We will follow you!"
I guess I wasn't doing too good of a job at following my guide!
How often don't we do the same thing with God?
Every morning I pray, "Be my guide today, Lord!" But moments later I am busy
making my own plans without asking Him what He thinks. Oh, I am very sincere in
this prayer. I want God to lead. But I get sidetracked, and then I go ahead and
do my own thing anyway. Sometimes these decisions get me into trouble, and more
often than not, I am tempted to blame God for not protecting from the trouble I
got myself into.
But all the while, God is saying, "I tried to guide you, but you wouldn't
listen!"
The bottom line is, you can have the best guide in the world, but if you decide
to not follow, it will lead to trouble.
Is the trouble the guide's fault?
No. It is our own fault for not following the guide. We need to stop SAYING we
want to follow God, and start FOLLOWING Him instead! We need to pray and ask God
to guide us, but we also need to pray that God will show us where we have taken
the lead. We need to humble ourselves before Him and ask His advice before
making decisions, and then we need to follow where He tells us to go. If we
don't, then we become like I was in Quebec City: "You're our guide, we follow
you! But wait …"
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two teens, Author and
Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural
Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems,
www.scripturalnuggets.org, with Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org.
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Mother of two teens, Speech-Language Pathologist, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, www.scripturalnuggets.org, with Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org.