Day 25 - Issue 23
Jeremiah 6:16 NLT
This is what the LORD says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.” But you reply, “No, that’s not the road we want!”
I discovered my love of history very young. It started with a series of Ladybird books featuring brief stories of historical figures. I remember at 7 asking my parents for RJ Unstead’s [itals]The Story of Britain[end itals] as a birthday present and reading it slowly from cover to cover, even making notes. History is a specific narrative tying events together in an ordered way, and there are many narratives that can be created.
It is good to remember that the history of God’s ways with the people of God is an essential narrative for those of us wanting to prove faithful in our life and service. There are times when it’s good to gaze back at where the Church has come from. Especially when we know our life is at a crossroads.
Many friends of God appear to run out of steam as they move into the later years of life. The reality of faith appears to dim and they pause and consider what it is they really believe. Some tuck God away somewhere and reinvent their lives; others seek to make up for years they feel they’ve lost in serving God. Certainly personal insecurity and anxiety accompanies the ageing process. Accompanying my mother, now aged 92, revealed to me how vulnerable we can become with advancing years. The physical vulnerability I expected, but the mental and emotional fragility is a surprise, and is painful for her.
In preparing for the challenges advancing years present, I have stood at the crossroads and begun to read into the works of the Eastern fathers in the Church. Their works speak of intimacy with God and ordering life in ways that both acknowledge the Lordship of Christ, while creating the space for deepening friendship with God. I will seek to walk these ancient paths in anticipation of a richer and fuller experience of the God of all eternity in all of the moments of the rest of my life.
QUESTION: Are there areas of your life where you are questioning the ways of God?
PRAYER: God of the ages, your ways are sure; may your word be a light to my path.
