Growing up in Northern California I was accustomed to foggy mornings. Fog can be quite tricky and treacherous to drive in since it severely limits one’s vision. The rule about constantly scanning the road well ahead of you no longer applies because sometimes the fog is so thick you can barely see past your own front bumper.
So how do you navigate when you can’t see down the road? By focusing on what is right in front of you. The traffic lines painted on the road on either side of you and the taillights of the vehicle directly in front of you become your guides; and because what is happening further up the road can’t be seen or anticipated, these guides require your utmost attention. These are the tools that will help keep you out of trouble.
Our spiritual journeys with God can sometimes become foggy as well. We want to map out the route, plan out the details, find all the great rest stops and go go go; but sometimes we experience anobstacle or difficult to see in circumstances. Through them we can learn to rely on God in an ever-increasing way if we will just pay attention to what is right in front of us.
When we can’t see down the road, we can’t plan to circumvent the roadblocks, detours, and sometimes even the accidents. And that is a good thing because God has a plan and a purpose for each of those things in our lives. As stay the course and navigate the obstacles in a way that honors Him and brings Him glory, I think we will encounter fewer spiritually foggy days because our experiences will empower us to trust Him more.
God’s ways are not our ways and sometimes I think He sometimes obscures the route from us because He knows we would rush right through and miss something really important along the way. When we find ourselves in a spiritual fog, we should remember to focus what is right in front of us. His word makes great traffic lines. It defines the boundaries of the road we should travel. Prayer gives us the power and peace we need to focus on each day and the details He places right in front of us. We keep from getting ahead of ourselves and missing the important things He has for us to experience by practicing these things.
In Genesis 12:1-2 God’s promise to Abraham is quite simple, He doesn’t even tell him his final destination. He just says that He will show Abraham the way and that it will be worth it.
“Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing”.
What road is God leading you to take? What are the conditions, can you see into the distance or does God have you in a season of just seeing what is right in front of you? Either way, how do you think you should navigate your journey with Him today?
