All of us at one time or another in life feel a sense of lostness. We want an assurance that we know where we are going in life. We are living in a time of rapid change and transition. Our inner sense of confidence is easily thwarted when our expectations in life are not met. So many times our thoughts of how things 'should be' don't line up with what they actually are. We grow disappointed in life. Disappointment leads to hopelessness and our 'lostness' worsens. We just don't know what to do with our lives anymore.
God wants to guide our lives and bring renewed hope and direction. The prophet Isaiah offers us an amazing promise of personal insight and direction for life, "Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and affliction for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes, and you will hear a voice say, ""This is the way, turn around and walk here." (Isaiah 30:20,21)
All of us have something or someone guiding and directing our lives. We all 'hear'voices. It could be the voice of our parents. It could be the voice of friends. It could be the voice of prevailing cultural expectations..... an ever present 'media' telling you what to think... what to desire...what to become. The trouble with most of the voices we hear is their unreliability. Humanities inner "GPS" is imperfect and often will guide us to places we never were meant to go. Indeed we're all lost. (Romans 3:23)
It's in our times of brokenness that we become more open to guidance. When we experience confusion and uncertainty in the people and things we love the most, we begin to ask the hard questions in life, "Why am I on this planet?" "Who can I really trust?" Is love for real?" "How can I possibly deal with this crisis?"
It's important to have moral principles to guide our lives... to know what is 'right and wrong' is fundamental to staying clear of danger and destruction in life. I'ts important to be in touch with your own personal passion.... your dreams and desires. Without a moral center and clear sense of who you are, you'll never get to where you're meant to go in life. Nevertheless, even people with clear moral boundaries and passion can get lost on the way to where they want to go. We're human....we're fallible. When we meet disappointment,our souls become wounded.... our inner person takes a hit and for a time we lose the coordinates that have guided us on the way.
Life is a journey. But the journey doesn't end when you take your last breath. People are made in the image of God... that is they are spiritual. Our spirit was created for relationship.... for intimacy with God and with one another. When we live for things... for achievement....for popularity.... for anything other than love, we're taking a step off the road marked out for us. The reason Jesus came and lived a sinless life and voluntarily laid down his life for us was not just to enable us to be forgiven. Ultimately, Jesus offers a way back to God himself. A restored relationship of intimacy that holds nothing back including an ongoing conversation of comfort, guidance and direction.
One of Jesus followers came to him wondering aloud of how to get to God (Thomas). Thomas sense of confusion comes through loud and clear, "We haven't any idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?" ( Can you relate? Have you ever asked yourself, Just where am I going in life?") Jesus response was both clear and startling as well, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." Ultimately, the way to God cannot be separated from personal relationship with him. It's not just about doing stuff for God. It's about being with him.... in step with his whispers of divine inspiration. God speaks to us through his word (the Bible) and by the Holy Spirit ,which Jesus promised to all who would believe and surrender life control to him.
Jesus said, "If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans--I will come to you." (John 14: 15-18)
At the age of 21 I came to end of myself. I admitted I was lost and broken. I asked Jesus to save me from my sin (lostness). Not only did Jesus forgive me.... he gave me something so precious.... so astoundingly beautiful and wonderful that I am forever grateful. The reality of the Spirit living on the inside of me is so central to who I've become. God's spirit drawing nearer to me than my very breath. The language of God's spirit to my inner person is often transmitted by a simple whisper of profound intimacy, "This is the way, turn around and walk here." Whispering is the voice of intimacy and profound trust. When we surrender to God we go to a place where his voice reigns supreme above all others.
Are you lost? Do you feel a profound sense of dissatisfaction and confusion? You were born to walk with God through the Spirit. You can't just rely on people alone in life. You are a spiritual being created to live forever. Your journey will not end when you take your last breath on this planet... no, the journey will have just begun. There is another dimension of love and intimacy that you would be foolish to reject or live without. You need the Holy Spirit in your life.... right now, right where you are. Surrender today to the God who made you. Cry out to Jesus for forgiveness and let him give you the great gift of God himself... the Holy Spirit will come, and you'll never be the same.
Jim
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