7.2.8 "Stay the Course"

"Stay the Course"

2 Kings 20:1-22:3
Acts 21:18-36
Psalm 150:1-6
Proverbs 18:9-10

One of the marvels of modern technology is the GPS. They are becoming more & more common. As I write this morning, we're in northern Minnesota visiting family. On the way here, the GPS would give instructions as to how far we were from our destination. They've made some new roads up here that haven't been updated in the GPS, so there was a while where the GPS thought we were driving in the ditch...

A year ago was my first experience with a GPS. We travelled to New York with another family, so there were 7 of us in the van. Well, I should say there were 8. We named the GPS "Molly". We grew to love and hate Molly. If you've never worked w/ a gps, they're really cool. You program in the destination, and she gives you DETAILED instructions as you drive. "Keep the left in point five miles."

Molly's tenacious. She would never let up. If you got off course, she'd let you know. "At the next opportunity, make a legal u-turn." Yeah thanx for that, Molly. With Molly's help, we actually backed up on a freeway once (do not try this at home) and on the way to the Statue of Liberty we did a u-turn that stopped 4 lanes of traffic... Needless to say, Molly wasn't the only female making comments on that procedure... but that's ANOTHER story!

So what does this have to do with a DEVO? God has a destination for each one of us. While there are things that can bump us seemingly off course, God's word calls us to Stay the Course.

There are a couple of phrases that jumped out at us from today's reading in Acts:

"As they were killing him (Paul)..."

"When the mob saw the troops coming, they quit beating Paul..."

Have you ever had one of those days? Probably not to the extent that Paul did. If you remember from the bible reading a couple days ago, Paul had been warned by the Holy Spirit that the trip to Jerusalem was going to contain suffering and jail. Well, it did.

The context of what is occurring in Acts 21 is this: Paul meets with the church leaders in Jerusalem and they are discussing some of the challenges of church unity. There is some division regarding the Jewish customs, and the leaders believe that Paul needs to take some steps to show that he honors the Jewish traditions. He does this for the sake of unity. It involves shaving his head and taking vows. This is a 7 day process, and as it almost wraps up, trouble erupts.

"The seven days were almost ended when some Jews from Turkey saw him in the Temple and roused a mob against him. They grabbed him, yelling, 'Men of Israel! Help! Help! This is the man who preaches against our people and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws." (Acts 21:27-28)

That would be frustrating to say the least. Here you're trying to do your best to show your support of the Jewish people, and the Jewish people mob you.

You have to look ahead to tomorrow's reading to see Paul's response, but as the soldiers are taking him away, he asks for an opportunity to speak to the people. As ugly as all this is, Paul realizes that this is what he is created to do. This is his purpose. Nothing will knock him off course.

Too often the circumstances of life dictate much of our direction. God may have laid something on our heart to do, but as soon as the road becomes a bit troublesome, we're "outa here" and back inside "Comfort Zone".

As we mature in Christ, we must grow deeper in our walk with him. We must dig into the word more than ever. We must be able to hear his voice in all circumstances. Developing this depth is like strengthening a keel on a sailboat. If you don't know what a keel is, here's the definition:

A fin like structure extending from the bottom of the hull which aids in stabilization and resists lateral movement of the boat under the force of the wind.

This is what we need in our spiritual walk. We need aid in stabilization. We need to resist lateral movement under the force of wind. We need to stay the course. I had an opportunity to go "tubing" yesterday. No, not the peaceful float down a stream on an inner tube, but the insane thought of being yanked by a rope behind a speedboat. I honestly thought for a while i was going to die. I was at the mercy of my brother-in-law who was driving the boat, and must still be angry that I married his sister... He would cut a corner so hard and because of a lack of a "keel" on the tube, I would go skimming across the water at an insane speed.

A friend commented on this metaphor and said, "Keels are most prevalent on sailboats. Motorboats and canoes, etc have very small ones to do just what you said here - keep the boat tracking where you want it. Sailboats on the other hand generally have relatively large keels and most have adjustable depth keels. Besides keeping the boat tracking properly the keel functions as a counterbalance to the rotating force of the wind in the sails. The more sails and stronger the wind, the deeper the keel needs to be to counteract that force - which wants to tip the boat over. Similarly, God's Word functions as the keel in our lives, not only helping us to track properly in the waters of life, but it serves to counterbalance the force of the winds on our sails - both the force that results in our growth in "calm" sea and the winds from the storms brought our way by Satan."

I can't imagine being beaten by a mob. I don't really have a desire to experience that. I would hope that wouldn't knock me off course of what God has called me to do. Yet so often, it's much less that causes me to question, doubt, fear, and hesitate.

No matter what the enemy may throw at you, stay the course!

When you keep to the path with a GPS, and you get to the hotel, or whatever you've programmed in, Molly's so happy for you. She says, "You have reached your destination." Let's work together to hear the Lord say, "You have reached your destination!"



Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

P Greg


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