“This is the day which the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it- Psa. 118:24
After our wonderful trip to Washington D.C., we turned north to Pennsylvania to our last major stop, Gettysburg. It was amazing. As we drove north, we realized that our trip was coming to an end. After weeks and months of planning and expectations, only a few days remained. But that’s the story of trips and life. If we’re not careful, we spend all our time planning for tomorrow and little time focused on today. Yet today is all that matters- tomorrow may never come. I’m reminded of an outstanding article by Oswald Chambers:
“We are apt to imagine that if Jesus Christ constrains us, and we obey Him, He will lead us to great success. We must never put our dreams of success as God’s purpose for us; His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have an idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal; He is not. The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident. What we call the process, God calls the end.
What is my dream of God’s purpose? His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay in the middle of the turmoil calm and unperplexed, that is the end of the purpose of God. God is not working towards a particular finish; His end is the process – that I see Him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just the absolute certainty that it is all right because I see Him walking on the sea. It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God.
God’s training is for now, not presently. His purpose is for this minute, not for something in the future. We have nothing to do with the afterwards of obedience; we get wrong when we think of the afterwards. What men call training and preparation, God calls the end.
God’s end is to enable me to see that He can walk on the chaos of my life just now. If we have a further end in view, we do not pay sufficient attention to the immediate present: if we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment as it comes is precious.”
Wow! Oswald always seems to get it so right. What a wonderful week of travel and as we focused on each stop along the way, we had a great time. Every stop was our first visit to that site. The excitement of each unique spot grabbed us for the day. Andy Griffith’s hometown, the places where the Civil war began and ended, the White House, and more consumed us. These were once-in-a-lifetime visits and we weren’t about to miss the moments.
But what about places we’ve been before. What about our families, our hometowns, our workplace? When we’ve “been there and done that,” we can easily look too far down the road and lean on tomorrow. These crucial areas need all of us today.
Yes, the trip was awesome. We’re back home now and we smile when we think back on the journey and our future trips together. But mostly we’re excited about today…
…and all the God has in store.
By Eric Joseph Staples ©
www.lifeaid101.com
Sunday, August 10, 2014
The Trip, part 5: the End
“This is the day which the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it- Psa. 118:24
After our wonderful trip to Washington D.C., we turned north to Pennsylvania to our last major stop, Gettysburg. It was amazing. As we drove north, we realized that our trip was coming to an end. After weeks and months of planning and expectations, only a few days remained. But that’s the story of trips and life. If we’re not careful, we spend all our time planning for tomorrow and little time focused on today. Yet today is all that matters- tomorrow may never come. I’m reminded of an outstanding article by Oswald Chambers:
“We are apt to imagine that if Jesus Christ constrains us, and we obey Him, He will lead us to great success. We must never put our dreams of success as God’s purpose for us; His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have an idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal; He is not. The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident. What we call the process, God calls the end.
What is my dream of God’s purpose? His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay in the middle of the turmoil calm and unperplexed, that is the end of the purpose of God. God is not working towards a particular finish; His end is the process – that I see Him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just the absolute certainty that it is all right because I see Him walking on the sea. It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God.
God’s training is for now, not presently. His purpose is for this minute, not for something in the future. We have nothing to do with the afterwards of obedience; we get wrong when we think of the afterwards. What men call training and preparation, God calls the end.
God’s end is to enable me to see that He can walk on the chaos of my life just now. If we have a further end in view, we do not pay sufficient attention to the immediate present: if we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment as it comes is precious.”
Wow! Oswald always seems to get it so right. What a wonderful week of travel and as we focused on each stop along the way, we had a great time. Every stop was our first visit to that site. The excitement of each unique spot grabbed us for the day. Andy Griffith’s hometown, the places where the Civil war began and ended, the White House, and more consumed us. These were once-in-a-lifetime visits and we weren’t about to miss the moments.
But what about places we’ve been before. What about our families, our hometowns, our workplace? When we’ve “been there and done that,” we can easily look too far down the road and lean on tomorrow. These crucial areas need all of us today.
Yes, the trip was awesome. We’re back home now and we smile when we think back on the journey and our future trips together. But mostly we’re excited about today…
…and all the God has in store.
By Eric Joseph Staples ©
www.lifeaid101.com
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