The Bible tells us that God prepares our steps. He makes our path straight and that He goes before us to defeat our enemies. (Our enemies being things/people/thoughts that would cause us to stray from God, and cause us harm.)
Jesus simple asks us to "Follow Me". So we set about following Jesus. Or, do we? We pray, and we can pray good prayers. But, it may seem that God is not with us. Or, is it we that are not with God?
How often are we off doing simply whatever, and asking Jesus to follow us? We have to stop and consider what we are doing and where we are going. What are our motives? Far too often we are heading down our own path. We are pursuing our own goals. Too often, we are off doing "own thing". We are living just for ourselves, seeking goals that benefit only us. And when things aren't going well, we pray for Jesus to come and "fix" our situation.
We call it prayer, but really it is just us yelling for Jesus to "get over here". We want Him to make right the situation we put ourselves in, because we know best. We want Jesus to manipulate our circumstances so that we come out on top.
Jesus wants to manipulate us, so that every circumstance is the winning choice. He wants us to follow Him, so that everywhere we go, He has already been, and 'prepared the way' for us to follow. When this happens, we are at peace, wherever the we are. His peace has filled us. In doing so, we can share His peace, in the situation. We can show His love to the people he has put around us. Jesus is asking us to be His representative in this world. We have to stop asking what He can do for us and ask what we can do for Him.
How can I bring hope, love and peace to this world? This is my prayer. Won't you share it with me today?
May you be blessed with peace in your heart today.
Psalm 37, Psalm 85, Matthew 4, John 20
