This morning I got up early, trying to get back into routine after traveling eight days in the last three weeks. I passed by the exercise videos to take a walk in the brisk but refreshing 45 degree morning. And what a treat it was! The sky still pitch black, but clear as could be and dotted with hundreds of stars visible to the eye. It was truly wondrous. A sight to behold.
Eventually, though, I drew my eyes away from the early morning sky and focused on getting down to business: making it around the about two mile loop as quickly as possible. Now, one thing was different about this morning. I'd brought a flashlight with me. Not a necessary item in the summer months, but as the days draw shorter and night still has it's hold on my piece of the world I thought it'd be a good idea to help navigate and be seen in the areas without lights.
What I noticed as I walked along, is that I tended to focus on the ground right in front of me, the illuminated ground. Usually, I maintained my gaze up ahead, searching, watching, judging what would come next. And this is what I came up with:
When we rely on ourselves, we spend a lot more effort trying to predict what's ahead. We plan, we conjecture, we strain to see. Now, not that planning's a bad thing - it's necessary for many things. But, God doesn't want us to live in all that hard work of our self-guidance. Instead, He desires we rely completely on Him, only glancing at the path immediately in front of us, which He promises to illuminate.
That's surrender, trusting that God has our best interest at heart and will not lead us astray. Even when times are tough, He will guide and lead us, offering comfort and peace beyond human comprehension. Not having to know the future, not straining to see what He'll have in store for us, but letting go and resting in the confidence that God is our Guide, even to the end. {Psalm 48:14}
