The other day I engaged in a familiar practice that almost every adult has done sometime throughout their life – bringing the groceries in from the car.
However, this time my little Yorkie, Zoe, felt she needed to participate. Zoe took it upon herself to guide my path from the car to the house and back again. More often than not, Zoe would stop and look back at me since she had never participated in this age-old tradition and had no idea what was going on.
After my initial frustration with having to start and stop so I didn’t step on her paw or hit her with the door, I slowed my pace and began watching her. She was so excited to be involved! She felt she was in charge but continued to look to me for validation that she was going the right way. She may not have known what she was doing but she had boundless energy as she tried!
I laughed as I thought how often I am like Zoe. I run ahead of God as if I know where I’m going. My enthusiasm to serve and be involved often supersedes my understanding of where He’s actually going. I continuously look to Him for validation and use unnecessary energy correcting the path I’m on. Can you relate?
If we would simply follow God instead of wanting Him to follow us, the whole journey would be less complicated. We wouldn’t have to keep checking for validation because we would see His path before us more clearly. We wouldn’t wander off and end up in the weeds somewhere because we would follow the leader.
Sounds simple, right? So why don’t we do that? Why are we so determined to climb every mountain, blaze new trails, and discover new territory? Our free keeps us running ahead and using time and energy trying to figure out the way to go instead of falling in line and following the Leader. Even the apostle Paul struggled with this concept causing him to question his own behavior. “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”(Romans 7:15)
The good news is we can stop running ahead. We can choose to listen more, react less, and walk the path God leads us on. God doesn’t expect us to know the way to go, His hope is that we put our trust in Him and will follow where He leads. He has amazing things to show us if we will simply follow the Leader…
Be blessed,
Jennifer
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24