Join the Wrestling Team

You don’t have to weigh 300 pounds, be strong as an ox, or even wear a red or blue onesie to be a valuable member of the wrestling team. If it's the right team. I believe Epaphras might be the captain of the team. I love Paul's description of him in Colossians 4:12. Paul says Epaphras was “always wrestling in prayer for you” (NIV). 

Intercessory prayer is a privilege, and it is one way we can live out Paul’s instructions to “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). There are messages all over social media asking for prayers, with responses (either in words or emojis) of “praying.” There are all sorts of occasions when we need our wrestling team to have our backs.

Oftentimes, I have received requests to be in prayer at a specific, appointed time over a certain event in someone’s life. I am happy to do this and had never considered that timed prayer might not be seen as a viable practice until I overheard a recent conversation. Several individuals near me were discussing whether or not it was really necessary or even beneficial to set an alarm and pray for a specific event at a pre-ordained time. Their conversation prompted me to consider their comments. Does it really matter when we pray, just as long as we pray sometime? 

Perhaps the logic behind their thinking was that we should always be in prayer, rather than reserving our prayer time for a particular time or day. Paul often mentions his own constant attitude of prayer (Phil 1:3; 2 Tim 1:3; Phlm 1:4), and he instructs us to “pray continually” (1 Thess 5:17). Even so, are there any biblical examples of prayers and answers happening together, at the same time, which would prompt us to schedule certain prayers, as requested …to set specific, purposeful times for a wrestling match?

I thought about the prophet Daniel. He reported that “while I was speaking and praying...and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill” an angel came to him “in swift flight” and gave him an answer to his prayer (Dan. 9:20-23). Now that is an example of a powerful, timely answer to prayer and a victorious wrestling match.

You may remember on one occasion the prophet Elijah “bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees” in prayer (1 Kings 18:42). Occasionally, he would take a break from praying in order to send his servant out to look for evidence of an immediate answer. No answer yet? Elijah bowed again and continued praying. It took seven times, but finally, his servant was able to report a visible, immediate answer to Elijah’s prayer. What an example of persistence in prayer at the moment an answer was needed.

Matthew recorded for us several instances when individuals asked Jesus for healing and he answered by healing their loved one “at that moment” (Matt. 8:13; 9:22; 15:28; 17:18). I’m sure there are more examples, but these are the ones that came to my mind.

If you think about it, we can only pray about needs or situations in the present or in the future. Even though God is eternal and has no limits of time, we are mortal and (at least while we are alive here) are bound by time. We can’t pray that history will be changed. We can’t pray that a past decision won’t be made or that a past tragedy or illness won’t occur. We can only pray about what is happening now.

This doesn't mean that God will always answer our prayers at the very moment we pray them, as He did for Daniel and Elijah. He might delay, but He always invites us to come to Him for help, for grace, and for mercy in our time of need (Heb 4:12). Might we flood the throne room with many friends and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, all seeking grace and mercy for a specific “time of need”?

Remember that we are in a spiritual battle, and we “do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12 ESV). Since our enemies are of another realm, it is a good thing our weapons “are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:3-4). We should be ready and willing to use these weapons (to pray) at the very moment of our brothers’ and sisters’ time of need.

Soldiers who are headed into battle need protection while they are in the midst of the battle. They have no need to be fully suited up for battle before it’s time for the battle to begin, or to suit up after the battle has ended and they are already wounded. They need to armor and protection during the fight, in the thick of the enemy’s attacks.

It is easy to get worn down in battle, but Jesus tells us that we “should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1). Remember that we are not alone in our battles and we have a great army in battle with us that we can call upon to pray for us, not only when they happen to think about it, but at specific times on specific occasions when we know we need that extra measure of protection, direction, strength, mercy, discernment, or wisdom in the midst of a battle.

So while we may “pray continually” on some level, I am going to continue to set my alarm and wrestle in prayer, interceding at specific times during a fellow brother or sister's time of need. Let's show up en masse at the wrestling match in the throne room and follow Epaphras' lead. Join the wrestling team.

Prodigal Worship (Part 2)

This post is a follow-up to my previous post, "Prodigal Worship Part 1," and it was originally published on the Prodigal Preacher blog (http://prodigalpreacher.com/prodigal-worship-part-2/)

In Prodigal Worship Part 1, we looked at the beautiful picture of worship that happens when we embrace our "prodigal-ness." The younger son repented of his sin, humbly returned to his father, and the father lavished him with love, forgiveness, and blessings. But at the end of that post, we were reminded that the younger son is not the only player in this story. What does worship look like for the older brother?

When the older brother heard the rejoicing over his younger brother’s repentance and return, he was angry and refused to participate in the celebration. He thought the ability to have a relationship with the father and the honor of receiving a blessing from the father was only for him, the “good” son. The one who didn’t wander off. The one who didn’t need to repent and return. Or did he?

As a side note, the subtitles and divisions in our Bibles were not part of the original text. They have been inserted for our reference. Sometimes these subtitles are helpful, but sometimes they divide verses that should remain together. There is one of these subtitles dividing verse 10 from verse 11 in Luke 15.

Verse 10, which is the verse just prior to the story of the Prodigal Son says, “...there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The next verse says, “Jesus continued...” (vs. 11). What He continues to do is to tell us the story of the Prodigal Son in order to paint a picture of one sinner who repents and the ensuing rejoicing ... except that in his story, the older brother refuses to rejoice.

The older brother’s claim is, “I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders” (Luke 15:29). Is that all that his relationship with the father is about? Duty? And he has never disobeyed? Never? He considers himself to be perfect? The apostle John tells us, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). I would dare say that many of us who have been Christians, or at least those of us who have been in the church, for years or even decades can easily slip into following the way of the older son.

"I’ve followed all your rules. I’ve been to church every week. I’ve tithed. I've never done drugs. I've never...I’ve...I’ve...I’ve...” Just like the older brother. And just like the older brother, we may experience some difficulty in rejoicing over a sinner who repents. Especially a really dirty rotten one who squandered the blessings of the Father. We may not want them to receive grace or to be lavished with the Father’s love. We may feel that they should be punished for what they’ve done. However, If we look at everything the younger son experienced, perhaps he was punished enough. His own disobedience resulted in his punishment and suffering, and in turn brought about his humility, and eventually the desire to repent.

It can be difficult to remember that none of us are transformed by punishment. We are transformed by grace. Paul might as well be speaking to the older brother, and the rest of us who sometimes follow the way of the older brother, when he says, “Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” (Rom 2:4).

The father rejoiced when his younger son returned to him, saying, “this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:24). Perhaps he also said to the older son, “you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up!” (Rev 3:1-2).
What does worship look like in our brokenness, in our prodigal-ness? In reflecting on this story, I think it looks like humility and repentance. It looks like being lavished with love, grace, and mercy by the Father and not being afraid to rejoice with each other that we are all in the process of being transformed from a broken mess into a beloved child of God.

Prodigal Worship (Part One)

This blog post was originally published last month on my friend Brandon Bradley's blog: Prodigal Preacher. As you might can tell from the title, the blog is built around Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son and the idea that we are all prodigals. Some of us have returned to the Father. Some of us may still be in the pig stye. Some of us may still be on the road in between the two. 

Brandon asked to contemplate what worship might look like within this well-known parable. After delving into the story again, I believe there is so much we can see about worship and praising God in this rich parable that Jesus told that I am breaking it up into two parts.

The story of the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15 is not really considered a "go-to" passage for studying worship, but it's in there. At first glance, we might grab onto verse 25 where the older son "heard music and dancing." They are singing and celebrating the return of the younger son. That's where the worship is taking place, right? I think it could be part of it, but the better picture of worship in this story is back in verses 17-20.

So we can clearly see an example of worship in this story, I want to start by giving you a working definition of worship. It can be defined as “an appropriate response to a revelation from God.” If that is true, how do we respond to God? How should we respond to God? James tells us if we are happy, we should “sing songs of praise” (James 5:13b). That is certainly an appropriate response to God. However, before we can sing songs of praise, the true worshipper responds to God in a very different way.

Let's look at the beautiful picture of worship that is presented in Isaiah chapter 6. The prophet Isaiah sees the Lord “high and exalted, seated on a throne,” surrounded by seraphim who are constantly declaring the holiness and majesty of the Lord (vs 1-3). When Isaiah witnesses this scene, what is his response? He does not immediately join in with the seraphim or burst out into joyful songs of praise. He falls to his knees in sorrowful repentance as a broken man. He cries out, “Woe to me...I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips...” (vs 5).

I believe the picture of worship in the story of the prodigal son and the picture of our own worship when we embrace our “prodigal-ness” begins in verses 17-20 of Luke 15. In this scene, the son who has wandered from them father “comes to his senses” and returns to the father. He repents of his sin.

He is not a stranger to the father. He is his son. He lived in the same house for a number of years, so he is aware of the father’s character. He knows his father is gracious and loving. Perhaps this is why he thought his request to receive his inheritance early would be granted. However, the son is not fully aware of the depth of his father’s love or his tremendous willingness to lavish the son with love and forgiveness. In the depth of his sin and rebellion, he begins to reflect on his father’s character. He decides to repent, and to turn from his sinful lifestyle in order to return to his father.

Perhaps in his heart he heard his father saying, “You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first” (Rev 2:4-5). The younger son's act of worship in this story is his act of repentance and his humble return to his father. The father then responds to his son’s act of repentance and returning home by lavishing his son with love, forgiveness, and blessings.

What the son received from his father is what we receive when we turn from our own sin, rebellion, and self-absorption and return to God: “the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us” (Eph 1:7-8). The father welcomed his son with open arms just as God welcomes us. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).

This is such a beautiful picture of worship. But the younger son is not the only player in this story. What about the older brother? What does worship look like for him? We will look at the older brother in the next post.

To Detour or Not to Detour

Have you experienced a scene like this? Not necessarily in Denver, but somewhere. I’m pretty sure my blood pressure goes up just at the sight of this photo. I hate getting caught in traffic jams like this one. It can throw a huge wrench into your entire day’s plans.

There are times when you have carefully planned out what time to leave the house with what should be the right amount of time to reach your destination. But then, just as soon as you get up to speed on the freeway, all forward movement ceases. There are no alternative routes or exits in sight. There is no way out. You’re stuck. There is nothing you can do to avoid the situation and get on your way. You just have to wait. And exhibit patience. And arrive late to your destination. (I hate being late!)

This happened to me over this past weekend when I left the house to go to Beth Moore’s Living Proof Live event up in Ft. Collins. A 97 mile trip (that should have taken 1½ hours, sans traffic) ended up taking me 3½ hours. I checked the traffic right before I left, and at least my path from Colorado Springs up to Denver looked clear. As soon as I got onto the freeway, there was a helpful sign announcing, “Crash ahead. Expect delays.” Thanks for the heads-up, but it did me no good since there was no detour available. I was stuck in an unexpected traffic gridlock with no way out. I had to sit and wait.

If you have a smart phone with a good map app, sometimes it can steer you towards a detour. It will ask if you’d like to avoid the traffic jam, and then it will direct you off of the main road, out of the mess, and back on your way. Although it may take you miles out of the way, at least you’re still moving. On my way back home from the Beth Moore event, I encountered two more time-consuming crashes, but in each of these cases, I was able to take a detour and keep moving.

In all my time on the road this weekend, I was thinking: don’t you wish that in life we could avoid certain gridlocks and traffic jams? I’m not talking about real traffic, but about what happens in our lives. What if there was an app that could alert us to what’s coming up and it could give us the option of taking a detour. You know, it could say something like: “Job loss ahead. Proceed with caution. Turn here to avoid.” Or “Serious illness and pain ahead. Exit the freeway to avoid this area.” Or maybe, “Relationship hurt and strife. Take the next exit to maneuver around it.”

The pain or the gridlock in front of you might be a result of your own error, but most often (as in literal traffic), it’s probably not. It’s the result of something or someone else outside your control. Whatever the cause, you’re in a mess. Headed straight for, or in the middle of, something that is painful, is a delay, or a long trek through the wilderness. And there is no way out. You have to just buckle up and endure it until you’re past it all. You may even be straining your eyes towards the horizon in an effort to see the end of the gridlock, but there is nothing but an endless line of brake lights as far as you can see. No way out.

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Romans chapter 8. There are so many good verses in there. Verse 27 is very well-known and often quoted. You're likely familiar with it. “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (NIV). So if God uses everything to work for good, He must mean that He uses even the traffic jams of life –all the junk that we would just really rather get to detour around. 

Why can’t we take a detour in order to avoid all the pain, the waiting, the wilderness, and the trauma? If God is using everything for our good, could it be that we would miss out on some of the good if we were allowed to detour around it? Could it be that particular element of good would be missing from our lives if that piece of the puzzle was missing? This is not to say that God caused the crash or the source of pain or purposely sent you through it, but He definitely says that He uses it for good. But could the good that is gained be worth the pain? Exactly how good could that good be if we have to endure whatever pain we’re walking through in order to receive it?

I want to draw a possible connection between Romans 8:28 and another verse further up the chapter. In verse 18, the apostle Paul says that he considers “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Is there a connection between these two verses (other than the obvious answer of verses 19 through 27)? Could it be that our traffic jam pain is not worth comparing to the good that God will work out for us if we persevere until we arrive at our destination?

When I was sitting in that traffic mess trying to get to Fort Collins, I seriously considered turning around and going home. Just forget it. A conference is not worth driving in traffic for 3½ hours. I had never been to one of these conferences so I didn’t really know what to expect. What if I drove that long for a disappointing experience? But I had a responsibility. I volunteered to serve, so even though I would be very late, I kept going. And you know what? It was worth the drive and the frustration. After I got there, I really forgot about the traffic frustrations. 

How much more will we forget about all of our frustrations and pain once we are past our difficulties --whether that be at the end of a particular season of trial or at the end of life when we reach our final destination and see Jesus face to face?

For further reflection on this idea, listen to the song “For the Heartbreak,” sung by the group Downhere. This is a song my husband, Chris, suggested. The lyrics are very fitting, particularly the final phrase which asks, “What if the road to the goal were the easiest road and I never learned what I know?” 

To detour or not to detour. That is the question.

Quiet Waters

I had been reflecting on the first few verses of Psalm 23 prior to a recent trip to Helen Hunt Falls (not the actress; part of North Cheyenne Canon Park here in Colorado Springs), so the passage was on my mind as I observed the falls.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul” (Ps 23:1-3a NIV).

The Lord leads us beside quiet waters. Okay. Quiet waters can be nice. Peaceful. Relaxing. Slow. Quiet waters makes me think of relaxing on an inflatable float in a pool or maybe floating down a lazy river on a big inner tube. These are enjoyable activities. We all need times of rest and relaxation. Time to rejuvenate.

But to be honest, quiet waters sound a little boring to me. What I really prefer is loud, fast-moving waters. I enjoy observing the awesome power of the water as it rushes over the rocks. I like listening to the roar of the water as it plunges toward to bottom of the falls.

As I sat listening to the sounds of the waterfall on this recent visit, I was reflecting on how the rushing water compares to the quiet waters mentioned in Psalm 23. Several observations came to mind.

Rushing waters are inviting. They promise adventure, fun, exhilaration. They beckon me to get in and brave the force of the water. They appear refreshing and invigorating. I find the power of waterfalls captivating to watch as from the safety of its banks.

Watching the force of the falls, I saw the fast-moving waters as symbolic of temptation. The sins that tempt us appear extremely inviting. They promise adventure, fun, and exhilaration. They call to us to enter all it has to offer. They may even offer us a challenge. How long can you enjoy this activity before you are swept away with the current?

That is the problem with the sin that beckons us. Like the rushing waterfall, we step into it, believing it will be fun, refreshing, and invigorating. We fool ourselves into thinking we can step back out of it onto the safety of the banks at any time. And sometimes, perhaps we can. But this is a dangerous gamble. 

Inevitably, at some point, the force will prove too much for us to stand and we will be knocked down and injured. We will lose our footing on the slippery rocks, and fall into the powerful, unstoppable flow. The force will carry us over the falls and plunge us to the bottom, perhaps even to our death.

The park ranger is well aware of these dangers. That’s why they post signs like this all around the falls:

God is also aware of the dangers of sin. This is why He posts danger signs as well. The park ranger is not trying to prevent us from having fun while visiting the waterfall, and God is not trying to prevent us from having fun when He gives us boundaries and tells us ‘don’t do that.’ The danger signs are there for our own protection, regardless of how fun, exciting, adventurous, invigorating, or compelling the rushing waterfall may appear.

After watching the waterfall for awhile, we went back downstream and stopped at a small inlet where the water was … yep, you guessed it. It was quiet. We put our feet in the cold pool, and we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch beside the quiet waters, admiring the beauty of the trees and mountains that were surrounding us.  

“He leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.”

P.S. I still enjoy watching and listening to waterfalls, but now they remind me of Psalm 23.

He is Risen!

It is Holy Week, and the entire church is looking forward to Easter Sunday and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. We may be preparing to participate in Good Friday services, sunrise services, pancake breakfasts, Easter cantatas, ham dinners, and/or Easter egg hunts. Are these celebrations and remembrances that are a part of Holy Week merely history or traditions that we do once a year? Does Jesus’ resurrection have any effect on our daily lives? Should it? What effect did the news of His resurrection have for those first eyewitnesses who arrived to discover an empty tomb that first Resurrection morning?

Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.

Then the angel spoke to the women. ‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said. ‘I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.’ (Matt 28:1-7 NLT)

Can you imagine the tangled thoughts and emotions of these women? Try putting yourself in their place. It has only been a few days since you witnessed the cruel, violent death of the man that you had invested the past two or three years of your life to follow. Afterwards, you, along with several of His other disciples, hurried to get His body buried in a tomb before the Sabbath began. You all cried together through the Sabbath, utterly devastated by the knowledge that He was really gone, and sealed in a tomb. You tried to process what had happened and what your next steps should be. All you could come up with at the time was that He deserved better than a hurried burial before the Sabbath, so you made plans to revisit His grave. On Sunday morning, a couple of you trudged to the tomb, planning on doing a better job of preparing Jesus’ body for a proper burial.

Try to imagine the shock and joy that collided with the fear and confusion in the minds of these women when they saw the angel and heard the news that Jesus had risen from the dead! How would you have responded to such an astonishing change of events? 

These ladies immediately obeyed the angel’s instructions and they “rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message” (Matt 28:8 NLT). They were so overwhelmed by the good news that Jesus was alive that they could not wait to tell the others. They joyfully did what they were commissioned to do, and then “as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him” (Matt 28:10 NLT).

The news of Jesus’ resurrection turned their lives upside down and moved them to action and to unashamed, extravagant worship. Does the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection do the same for me or for you? Does it move you to action, to do something? Does it move you to unashamed worship of Jesus? The gospel is such amazing news that it should turn our lives upside down, move us to action, and move us to extravagant worship.

Be intentional during this special week, during this time when the entire body of Christ is intensely focused on the suffering, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Allow these events to affect your life. To move you to action. To inspire you to extravagant, unashamed worship. To turn your life upside down for His Kingdom.

(This blogpost was adapted and excerpted from Part One of Follow Jesus, Share the Journey, available on Kindle.)

How Does the Lord Direct our Steps?

Imagine that you have set out on a journey. You checked the map, consulted Google, and marked out what seems to be the best path to your destination. However, to your surprise, not very far into the journey, you hit a dead-end and all forward motion was blocked with a sign like this...

You decide that you obviously made a wrong turn somewhere, so you turn around, start down a slightly different path, but soon you are met with a sign like this one...

Obviously this is not the right way either, so you turn around once again, study the map, examine the detour signs, and begin again, only to be met with a sign like this one...

I'm sure you would agree that this would be an extremely frustrating road trip. You'd probably want to give up, turn around, and just go home. I know I would.

When we moved to the Denver, Colorado area two-and-a-half years ago for my husband to manage the LifeWay Store in Centennial, Colorado, I immediately started applying to Worship Ministry positions at churches in Denver and the surrounding area. It had only been about three months since earning my M.A. in Worship Studies and being ordained into Christian Ministry, so this process shouldn't take too long, right? After all, this was the path I believed God had me on, and it was the direction the map seemed to be pointing. 

However, this turned out not to be a quick and easy journey, but one as frustrating as the journey described above. We were constantly met with roadblocks, and with signs that said “Road Closed” and “Do Not Enter” at every turn. Weeks turned into months. Months turned into years. All I heard was “No. No. No. No.” “Not here.” (Or sometimes just crickets in the otherwise deafening silence.) At last count, I think I had applied to over 50 churches ---both in the Denver area and out-of-state. The answer to everything and everywhere was “No. Do not enter. Road closed. Go away." 

We began to doubt the map and asked God, “Are we even supposed to be here? Was moving to Colorado a mistake? Why did I ever think that You called me to serve You in ministry? Why was I ordained if it would all be for naught after only three months?”

Last fall, after two years in Littleton, our apartment lease was up and we received a notice that they were going to raise our rent. This was not a small increase. It was a big one. We looked everywhere for something else, but couldn’t find anything in the Denver area that we could afford. 

Well this has been a fabulous two years. I have run into nothing but discouragement looking for a ministry position. My purse was stolen in broad daylight. My computer suffered a bizarre crash that even dumbfounded the computer repair guy. Then I broke my foot while still living in a third-floor apartment. Now we can’t find a place to live. Fabulous.

A friend in Colorado Springs suggested that we look there because housing there was more affordable than in Denver. I really resisted this idea at first. I thought it would be much too far for Chris to drive up to Centennial for work, and that’s what brought us to Colorado in the first place. Plus, I didn't want to uproot our kids and move them to a different school system again.

Although it took some convincing, we finally agreed to go look at houses on the north side of Colorado Springs. We not only found a house that was in our price range, but one that we love! It even has a nice view of the mountains from the front porch. Okay, so maybe Colorado Springs is where we need to be. Chris’ commute is about 40 minutes --- pretty much the same as what it was in Texas, but with views of the mountains rather than fields and houses. The kids settled into their new schools very well and have made new friends.

So after more than two years of blocked roads and frustrating signs like this...

...it was just a few weeks after moving to Colorado Springs that God opened the door for me to lead the Worship Ministry at Grandview Community Church. In one of my interviews there, I was asked if I could be happy with a part-time position rather than full-time. After thinking a minute, I answered, “Actually, what I would really like is a part-time Worship Ministry position and a part-time Worship Professor position at a Christian college, but I haven’t found that here either.”

I kid you not --- it was the very next day following this conversation that I received an email from Dallas Christian College, where I earned my undergrad Worship degree, asking if I would be interesting in teaching the traditional format of “Worship Theology and Practice” via distance learning technology. Then----another week or so after that, I found a part-time office job with an organization that works with Christian education. Talk about a green light rather than a "Road Closed" sign! We are in a house, and I now have three jobs that are all related, that are all in my field of experience and passion, and that all work together. 

In the past couple of months since these changes have taken place, I have really been contemplating the differences and the similarities between these two situations:

“For we wanted to come to you –certainly I, Paul, did, again and again –but Satan blocked our way.” (1 Thess 2:18 NIV)

“Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” [Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia calling him, so they] got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” (Acts 16:6-7, 10 NIV).

While we were in Littleton, was Satan the source of our frustrations as Paul wrote about in Thessalonians? Was he blocking my path in order to try to frustrate and discourage me so that I would quit serving in the Kingdom of God? Or was it like the situation that Luke described? Did the Holy Spirit block us at every turn so that we would leave Denver and move down to Colorado Springs to be able to serve where He wanted and where He had planned? I believe He does plan these things --- “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:10 NIV).   

Proverbs 20:24 says, “The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?” (NLT). How does He direct our steps? Could it be through “Road Closed” and “Do Not Enter” signs rather than just by opening doors? Could it be that a small molehill in your way would not make you change paths, but a giant blockade would? Could it be that He sometimes has to take drastic action to move you from your own path to the one He wants you to be on because you have no idea where the road is headed or where He wants to take you on your journey? I know. We just read "why try to understand everything along the way." But it does make me wonder what all God uses to direct our steps. 

All the "Road Closed" and “Dead End” signs are very frustrating, depressing, and heart-wrenching while you are in the midst of seeking where the Lord is directing you. And we may not ever understand all of the steps and mis-steps along the way. However, it can be a great joy to be able to look back and trace all the ways the Lord directed your steps in order to bring you to where He wants you to be, where you can do the good works He planned long ago for you to do.