A light to my path

As the alarm clock went off this morning at 5:45 my first thought was, why does it have to be so dark out in the morning (which was quickly followed by that confusion I have each year about the time change and if we get more sunlight in the morning when we have to give it up in the evening). I like running to start the day, but I don’t like feeling swallowed up in the darkness. As I left the driveway and flipped on the flashlight I felt the familiar butterflies in my stomach of “what might be ahead, what I can’t see, what I can’t prepare for, what I might get hurt on” and it hit me that running in the dark is a lot like my fear of not knowing the future. I really pondered this comparison and all of a sudden the little bit of light right in front of me seemed like just the right amount of guidance. The more I ran along thinking that, the clearer the correlation became between that light and the way God wants us to live. God doesn’t want us to be consumed with a desire to figure out the future, he wants us to focus on what is happening now: the steps we are taking in our relationship with him and the priority we place on a life lived for the kingdom. When we spend much of our time thinking only of the future we compromise the beauty and joy of the present moment. What is up ahead are things that can’t be predicted, but the things that are happening to us now will give us the stamina and courage to face those things when they do come. I think the things that are behind us are best viewed as our lives prerequisite courses entitled “What to Do” and “What Not to Do”. I continued to consider the similarities of running in the dark with a flashlight and living in God’s present plan and it occurred to me that street lights are like the friends we have that add extra light of encouragement and support in difficult situations.

As I came to the end of my run this morning I was really excited about the message I felt I had received about having enough faith to put one foot in front of the other in the present light God will provide for me!

I came inside, did some stretching and then got out my daily devotion book entitled Jesus Calling. Check out the exclamation point God provided to his message from my run…

“You will not Find my Peace by engaging in excessive planning: attempting to control what will happen to you in the future. That is a commonly practiced form of unbelief. When your mind spins with multiple plans, Peace may sometimes seem to be within your grasp; yet it always eludes you. Just when you think you have prepared for all possibilities, something unexpected pops up and throws things into confusion.

I did not design the human mind to figure out the future. That is beyond your capability. I crafted your mind for continual communication with Me. Bring Me all your needs, your hopes and fears. Commit everything into My care. Turn from the path of planning to the path of Peace.”

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“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path – Psalm 119:105”