When we walk away from God…..we are walking away from His protection!
I want to be clear here….God never ever stops loving us!
Can we hurt Him? Can we disappoint Him? YES…..absolutely…..but there is nothing we can do to make Him stop loving us! BUT we have the free choice to surrender our will to His will and do it His way, or we can GO our own way. When we choose to go our own way, we are choosing a dangerous path…a prideful path of thinking we are all-knowing and self-sufficient! Scary….scary….scary!
Too many times….we relate our pain, our sorrow, our misfortunes to God’s punishment on us…instead of relating it to “our poor choices!” Just recently, I was enjoying a day on the beach…while watching a little one, whom I love and we fondly call “IV,” play and toddle around. While he was on the beach, especially near the water….I didn’t take my eyes off of him. Yes, he is adorable and fun to watch as he explores things in wonder for the first time, but I knew he was helpless and could not swim if he got too close to the water. He has NO CLUE of the danger!
He also didn’t have a clue that the “funny looking ball of jelly” that had washed up nearby could cause him great pain and harm. I thought to myself, “WE can be just like “IV” and be clueless of the dangers that lurk.” I have said it before and I will say it again……God has the same view as I had for IV…HE sees the “danger” lurking….He watches over us and wants to protect us and guard us from the “dangers” and “ditches” that are all around us….more times than not….our pain comes from us walking away or running from God’s protection.
Our pride tells us we “know what’s best”. Our minds say…”we can handle this”. Or we say, “this won’t happen to me!” We get the prideful mindset….that we are in “charge”. We don’t need anyone…”we can do it our way and in our time.”
In God’s creation, it just doesn’t work like that! God’s plan cannot be thwarted. He doesn’t need any of us to accomplish His will, but He desperately wants us to participate. His desire is for us to “walk with Him,” so that it will go well with us. Deuteronomy 6:3, “Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in the land, flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord the God of your ancestors, promises you.” And again God gives the instruction in Ephesians 6:2-3, “Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother–which is the first commandment with a promise—that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy a long life on the earth.”
Scripture is full of instruction from God on how to live and operate within His will…..it is when we choose not to obey…and go our own way…..that the road becomes rocky, rough. We even take “Major” wrong turns and end up “lost”, “alone”….and in “trouble”……more times than not…..it is from using our “Human GPS” which is terrible!
Human GPS never updates and it can NEVER take us to our final Destination. We can travel along using our HUMAN GPS….but what we don’t realize is that the directions….eventually will give us wrong turns. WE will always 100% of the time end up at a place that we did not intend to go. God even warns us in scripture through the principle of “reaping and sowing”…..Galatians 6:6-7, “Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
I have to stop for a moment and recommend one of the best books I have ever read written by Andy Stanley and entitled, “The Principle of the Path”. It unpacks…exactly what happens when you choose HUMAN GPS instead of God’s GPS. It is easy to read, uses scripture and can take you deeper than this post has room to do…deeper in understanding and following God’s will and enjoying His protection.
It is never too late…to seek God and His GPS for your life–no matter your age or your current location. You may have to navigate through “rough terrain” to get back on the “right highway” of life, but with God guiding…you will have His help, His strength, His patience and His comfort…..to get you back on the intended ROAD for your life.
It was hard to decide which part of Psalm 91 to close with so I encourage you to read the entire psalm. I will leave you with verse 14, “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.”