Don't Get Distracted.

          This week, I'm going to switch gears a little and not talk about Radical because of something that happened the other day that God used to speak to me. I hope that this story of how God used something so simple to teach me encourages you.

          Sunday evening, Miranda and I went on a hike with Scott and Bethany. We were hiking through the trails along the Clearfork Reservoir (which by the way, if you have never hiked here I highly recommend it, especially while the sun is starting to set). As we were on our way back to the car, the sun was setting over the water, painting a beautiful image of oranges, pinks, purples and golds. It was so beautiful. Sunsets are one of my favorite natural works of art. Anyways, as we were walking, Miranda tripped over a tree root in the path. After she regained her balance, we both laughed, and she said, "I wasn't even paying attention. I was looking at how pretty it is!" I smiled and agreed, but inside I heard the Holy Spirit speaking to me.
          I allowed it to all sink in over the next couple days and spent today unpacking all that was in that moment. I am going to try to break it down part by part.
          Let's begin with the path. I'm sure you can guess that this path represents life, more specifically, our walk in life. There is a vast array of paths that a person can take in life, all leading to one of two places, heaven or hell. For those of us who have confessed with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God has raised him from the dead, then we are saved (Romans 10:9). Our path will lead to heaven. However, there is a false assumption that just because we are saved, our path will not have any obstacles in it. This, my friends, is not true. We can expect that there will be obstacles of all shapes and sizes. This leads us into the next part, the obstacles.
          On our path as Christians, we will face many obstacles. On the path that we were hiking, there were small obstacles like tree roots, rocks, puddles, branches and things like that. There were also larger obstacles such as tree branches and trees that had fallen across the path. In our lives, these obstacles can be habitual sin, arguments, failed tests, changed plans, getting in trouble, losing a job, divorce, sickness and disease, the death of a loved one or anything else that acts as a speed bump or roadblock in our path walk with Christ. If we aren't careful, these obstacles, small and large, can alter the direction of our paths. They can cause us to lose sight of where we are going. In some cases, we can get so caught up with what is in front of us, we aren't willing to take the detour that God has opened up for us. We want to try to demolish the brick wall in front of us with our own hands or cut up the tree that has fallen in our way with a hand saw, rather than listening to God and following his footsteps around the wall or tree. In my experiences, these alternate routes have been the times when I have seen God do incredible things in my life. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." In other words, when come to these obstacles in our walk, trust in God to take you where he wants to, even if it may not make sense. By submitting to his way, what may seem like a winding road to us, is the straight path that God has set out for your life.
          Finally, let's talk about the sunset. Now the sunset didn't do anything wrong in this story. It was just minding its own business, looking all pretty out over the water. However, it still distracted all of us, Miranda just happened to be the one who tripped. The sunset represents distractions in our lives that cause us to lose sight of where we are going. These distractions, like the sunset, are not always bad things. In fact, they can be really good things! For example, a significant other, your friends, your job, a hobby, money, music and other things like that can be good things to have in your life. There is nothing inherently wrong with those things, but when they become our main focus, then there is a problem. What happens when you try to walk in a straight line with your eyes fixed on something to your right? You can't walk straight, can you? You begin to walk towards what you are looking at. The same thing happens in life. When these distractions become our main focus, we begin to walk off our path towards them, rather than keeping on the path towards God. What lies off the path? Even more obstacles to get caught up in. Friends, this is what the devil is trying to get us to do. He wants us to get distracted, whether it is by a good thing or a bad thing and wander off the path. 1 Peter tells us that "the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." The devil wants us to get distracted, to wander off the path into the brush where he is waiting. However, if we fix our eyes and our minds on heavenly things, we will be less likely to become distracted (Colossians 3:2), and better able to stay on the path that God has for us.
          For those of you who do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I pray that God would use these words to draw you to Him. If you want to know more about what I have written or how you can begin a new life with Jesus, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. You are never too far off the path for God to rescue you.
          I want to close by encouraging you to run the race marked out for you. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). I think that the verse from the hymn Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing perfectly sums up what I have written.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

For Qu.

11-14-2017

His name was Quvonta, Qu for short. I didn’t know him all that well yet, but he was still a teammate. I remember having him in my orientation group at school, showing him around campus, helping schedule his classes, talking with him and his brother about basketball. We practiced together for a few weeks before he went back home to Cleveland for a little while. We chatted in a group message with the rest of the team. He always lifted us up and encouraged us. He wanted to make us better. He was determined to make us better. He was supposed to be back to practice on Monday, but Monday never came for him…

We got the news Sunday morning from Coach in a text that read, “I postponed the game today. There was an incident where Q was shot and killed last night. I don’t know anymore details.” My heart sank. My stomach dropped. How do you take this kind of news? A friend, a teammate, a twin brother, a best friend, a son, dead. Forever gone from this earth. But God, why?! He was only 18! He had so much life left to live! How can you do this? Why would you do this? I don’t understand. Honestly, I probably never will.

As the news spread, I see pictures of Qu on social media. I read stories about the joy he brought to others, the laughs and smiles that were shared with him. I see videos of the silly dance moves that he unashamedly showed off. My heart continues to break. What do you say to your two teammates, one who is his twin brother and the other his best friend? There aren’t words gentle enough to make the tears stop. There aren’t words encouraging enough to lift their spirits. So you say what you can and hope that they know you mean it.

One of the most afflicted men in the Bible, Job, has a lot to teach us about loss. God allowed Satan to take away his family, his livestock, his money and his health. If anyone had a reason to curse God it was him. Upon hearing the news that all of his livestock, his servants, and his children had been killed, the Bible says that Job “got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. The he fell to the ground in worship and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.’” What an atypical response to tragedy. I’ll be the first to admit that more often than not, my initial instinct is not to worship God when tragedy strikes. I want to question God, I want to know why, and I want to know the purpose, the plan. But Job reminds me that the Lord is in control. He gives and he takes away, sometimes unexpectedly and sooner than we would wish. While Job was sitting among the ashes in his mourning, God allowed Satan to take Job’s health, but he had to spare his life. Job was covered in sores from head to toe and the Bible tells us that Job’s wife told him to curse God and die but Job refused. He asked her the question, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” What a great question to ask and to gain perspective. God is God in the good and the bad. He is present in our highest times and our lowest times. He is worthy of our worship on the top of the mountain and in the valley below. As for the questioning of God’s plan, we are reminded in Isaiah 55 that God’s ways and thoughts are not like our own. “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” 

In situations like this one, we want to know why, but we have to have faith, even in the darkest, lowest valley that we find ourselves in. Faith that God is in control. Faith that God does not make mistakes. Faith that God is just. Faith that God will never leave us nor forsake us. Right now, we mourn with those who mourn and pray for peace, comfort, and healing in the lives of those who knew Qu.

Rest easy, Qu. This season is for you. We love you and will miss you.