Every day brings about new opportunities and challenges. Often I that old phrase stuck in my thinking that I have to simply “roll with the punches”. Some things are literally out of our control.
Life is not intended to be confusing and haphazard. In fact God intends for our lives to be marked by life and abundance. That is often the overflow of following divine guidance.
Checkout the following passage:
Ephesians 3:23-25 NLT
Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. 24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 25 And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.
I am grateful for the grace of God that gives us salvation through Christ. But the law has a place. As these verses said before Christ the law taught us how to live. Now the purpose of the law is to remind us that we cannot do this on our own.
In my devotion yesterday about boundaries there was a great illustration I want to share with you:
I remember, years ago, a football match that had been arranged involving twenty-two young boys (including one of my sons, aged eight at the time). A friend of mine, Andy, was going to referee. Unfortunately, by 2.30 pm he had not turned up. The boys could wait no longer.
I was press-ganged into being the substitute referee. But, I had no whistle, there were no markings for the boundaries of the pitch and I did not know the rules nearly as well as some of the boys.
The game soon descended into complete chaos. Some shouted that the ball was in. Others said that it was out. I wasn’t at all sure, so I let things run. Then the fouls started. Some cried, ‘Foul.’ Others said, ‘No foul.’ I didn’t know who was right. So I let them play on. Then people began to get hurt. By the time Andy arrived, there were three boys lying ‘injured’ on the ground and all the rest were shouting, mainly at me!
But the moment Andy arrived, he blew his whistle, arranged the teams, told them where the boundaries were and had them under complete control. The boys then enjoyed a great game of football.
Were the boys freer without the rules, or were they in fact less free? Without any effective authority, they could do exactly what they wanted. But people were confused and hurt. They much preferred it when the game was played according to the rules. Then they were free to enjoy the game. The rules of football are not designed to take away the fun of the game. They are designed to enable the game to be enjoyed to the full.
(taken from youversion.com, Bible in One Year reading plan, day 72)
Boundaries and the law are not intended to keep us from living. In fact they were put in place to give us freedom to really live.
Does that make sense to you? Tough to understand, but by the grace of our God we will see amazing opportunities abound. Move in to them. Listen and follow divine guidance!
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