Readings for today: Hosea 10-14
I was talking to one of my children the other day about their future. They are in their mid-twenties and just moved to a new city. They are starting their first real job as a teacher and are looking to make a career of it. They are a bit anxious as you can imagine. They are feeling the pressure to make the right decisions. They wonder how life is going to turn out. I get it. I remember when I was in their position. All the feelings I had when I was getting started came rushing back. Then a few days later I was hanging out with a college buddy. We are both in our fifties now and for the first time in our lives, we can see the horizon of our careers. I happen to be a pastor. He happens to be a business owner. We’ve both been blessed beyond measure. We have great marriages. Great kids. Great jobs. We derive a lot of meaning and joy from what we do. At the same time, we’ve also faced significant challenges in our lives. Life has not always been up and to the right. It’s been filled with both success and failure and through it all, we’ve both tried our best to serve the Lord. As we hung out in his pool overlooking a beautiful valley in the hills of California outside Los Angeles, we talked about how we got to where we are today. What was the secret?
Honestly, there isn’t one. We simply did our best to follow the words given by the prophet Hosea when he says, “If you want to live well, make sure you understand all of this. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll learn this inside and out. God’s paths get you where you want to go. Right-living people walk them easily; wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling.” (Hosea 14:9 MSG) To be clear, I’m not talking about a “health and wealth” gospel here. These words are just as true for the rich as they are for the poor. Just as true for the powerful as they are for the powerless. Just as true for those who seem to sail through life as they are for those who seem to suffer at every turn. The truth Hosea expresses here is not dependent on circumstances. It’s not dependent on the size of one’s bank account or the number of degrees on the wall or the neighborhood where one lives or the power and influence one accumulates. It’s simply a reflection of the reality that God’s ways are better than our ways and His thoughts better than our thoughts. If we seek Him with our whole heart, we will get to where He wants us to go. If we seek Self or any other idol in place of God, we will find ourselves stumbling and bumbling along the way.
God knows best. Such a simple and yet profound truth. If we believe what the Bible reveals about God then we know we can trust Him. He is our Heavenly Father who will not give His children stones when they ask for bread or snakes when they ask for fish. He is merciful and gracious, full of steadfast love and faithfulness. He is Love who lays down His life for us. This is who God is. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, and all-good. All the time. So when this God instructs us, advises us, and gives us commands to follow; we would do well to obey Him because He knows what’s best for us. Not just what’s best for us in this world but for all eternity. Not just what’s best for us in the moment but over the course of a lifetime. He knows where we are going and He knows the best path to get us there. Trust Him. Believe Him. Surrender to Him. Let Him take the wheel of your life and guide you along the way!
Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 1-4