The Road
(This is a true story I wrote about a painful experience in my life. The road isn't always easy. It has many twists and turns, but God will always hold and guide you safely if you surrender to Him.)
Several years ago, I joined Jesus on a journey down a road. I have learned so much since I took those first few steps, but I never knew the full meaning of those things until I experienced them in my own life. Jesus was my best friend, which not only means that I will have eternal life in heaven. He wants me to have an abundant life right here on Earth, and that meant that I had to live every part of my life for Him. Nothing means more to me than His will. So, when He told me to take a road that I didn't want to travel, I told Him that I would go because I know that He knows what He's doing. He doesn't have to fill me in. If I don't know what He's doing, it doesn't change the fact that He always knows what He's doing. His will is actually what I would choose for myself if I had the wisdom that He does. In the midst of anything, I know that everything is going to be okay when I know that I am where He wants me to be. It doesn't matter what happens to me if God is holding me in His arms. It's so much better to know that God is in control, even when I don't know what He's doing than it is to put myself in control and not know what it the world I am doing. With that in mind, I decided to follow Him wherever He led me, no matter what, and at any cost.
I prayed about every single step that I took to make sure that I was following Him on this road, and I read my Bible for guidance. I constantly depended on Him for every single decision that I made because He had led me to a place on the journey so far from where I had begun that I would have lost my way if I had wondered from this road. At first it was fairly smooth, and I knew exactly how to follow Him. We talked all the time, and I understood what He was saying to me. So, I said to Him, "I will go anywhere with you. I will go through anything you want me to." Then the largest storm that I have ever seen came and joined us on this road. Just walking down it became a struggle, and I completely lost my focus. The wind was too strong and the rain was too heavy for me to bear on my own. I couldn't see where I was going, and I couldn't see God anywhere in this. I felt as if He had left me out in the middle of this road to find my own way. I knew that when He starts something in me, He won't leave it unfinished, but I got so tired of waiting. I knew that His timing was so much better than my own, but I guess I didn't really believe it. That meant I would have to close my eyes to the storm and completely trust Him to carry me through, but this storm was too big. I couldn't stand the pain any longer.
For the first time in my life, I didn't want to walk down the road He had chosen for me. So, I started looking for short cuts and running in any direction that would take me away from the storm because this was a storm that I just couldn't stand to face. The more I ran, the softer His voice became, until I could barely hear Him at all. I didn't read the Bible very much, and we didn't talk the way we used to. I was so numb, and all I cared about was surviving. I went my own way and did my own thing. The fire had become too hot, but it didn't take me long to realize that I was only adding heat to it. My short cut had actually become a detour. I felt so guilty for some of the things I had done, and I missed Jesus so much. I just didn't have anything left to say. I had taken a wrong turn and fallen into a deep hole, and I didn't know how to get out. It hurt too much to even try, and I couldn't hold on any longer. I couldn't stand the thought of loosing sight of Jesus completely, but I kept falling deeper. I remembered how safe I felt in His arms, even when the storms were all around me, and I just wanted to be close to Him again. However, I was afraid that He would be too angry with me to hold me close again because I had gone my own way. Certainly He doesn't love me as much now that I have disobeyed. I knew that I had let Him down, and I didn't know what to do. So, I prayed that He wouldn't let me out of His reach. Those were the only words that I could speak. "Please don't let me fall too far." Then He came and rescued me. He lifted me out of the hole and carried me back to the road I was originally on. The storm was still there, but that didn't matter anymore. I was just so happy to see the road, and I realized that Jesus never did let me go. I couldn't run too hard or fall too far away from His arms. Just because I couldn't see Him, didn't mean He wasn't there. He allowed me to take the roads that I wanted to take and put distance between us, but He never let me out of His sight or beyond His reach. He forgave me as quickly as I asked Him to. He said that I didn't let Him down, because I was never holding Him up. He was the one holding me. He never left me, and anytime I can't see Him, all I have to do it ask Him to pick me up and hold me close. Then He will lead me back to where I need to be, the only place where I really want to be.
If you would like to join Jesus on the road and have the assurance that He will never let you go, please pray the following prayer.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I need your forgiveness. I believe that you died for my sins, and I want to turn from my sins. I now invite you to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name. Amen.
If you want to grow closer to Jesus, visit my Essentials page for tips on how to stand strong. Start reading the Bible in the book of John, and find a Christian church to attend. We all need good Christian friends to help us grow! :)
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