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Who Teaches...

             This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” (Isaiah 48:17)

 

            Today’s verse was recommended by Biblegateway.com, but it’s a time of year when I tend to whine at God a little more often about the way in which I’m going. It’s an obvious turning point in one’s life when one moves from one place to another, even if one cycles through two basic locations. As at least one person tells me, I’ve done it before. I know the routine. But that’s part of the problem. Am I doing this because it’s just what I do or am I engaged in the process. Is God involved and leading, or is that just an assumption on my part?

            There are always questions. Should I be doing this at all? Should I stay where I am? Move permanently? If so, where? Closer to family so I can burden them more actively? To a place I think I’d like to live? If I’m going to move, why am I wasting time and money doing the things I’m doing? Should I get a “real” job? Be more involved in this, or less involved in that?

            I know that God has led me in the past, and is leading me now, but that doesn’t mean I think I can dance blindly into a minefield. I find I tend to either want to tiptoe into the minefield ahead of God, or I expect Him to clear the mines and build at least a pathway – maybe even a road, complete with convenience stores and picturesque pull-offs.

            That’s not the way God works. He teaches, which means He’s the one who sets up the lesson plan. He directs. He’s the one who maps it out, and more often than not, He doesn’t hand us the itinerary. And that’s part of the problem. I’ve been living this life for eight years, with year nine beginning soon. There have been some changes, but my concern is with whether I’m following the roadmap I built over those eight  years, or I am following God. This is where practical faith comes in. I must remember – and live on the promse – that He will teach and direct.

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