HOW IS YOUR JOURNEY WITH THE LORD?

I pray that all of us, especially me because I tend to be impetuous and always in a hurry, will journey with the Lord at HIS pace. His is always best, after all.

Eternal Perspectives          by Sally Bair

The journey

My family’s 3,500-mile journey to Alaska in 2005 took us four days. Six of us crowded in a pickup camper, determined to travel on a prayer and a shoestring. The destination, that of visiting my son, kept us from getting too road weary. In fact, my four-year-old granddaughter hardly ever said, “Are we there yet?”

Once we arrived, my son and his family treated us like royalty. We fished and enjoyed a bounteous variety of fresh Alaskan wildlife. The long daylight hours brought opportunities to enjoy the family and the surroundings.

Mary and Joseph’s trip to Bethlehem was long, too. From Nazareth they traveled probably by donkey about one-hundred miles. Like us, the trip might have taken four days. And much of the trip likely had to be taken during the darkness of short winter days. How tired Mary must have been! Perhaps she kept wondering, “Are we there yet?” Once they arrived, unlike us, they were not treated as royalty—until the shepherds came to worship Mary’s newborn, the Messiah, and the wise men traveled from the east to pay Him homage with extravagant gifts.

Like the shepherds and wise men, we can follow the star of God’s Word that will guide us to Jesus, God’s Son, no matter where we are or what we face in life. Like Mary, the journey we face may be difficult and long and dark. But by accepting God’s Son as our Lord and Savior, by His grace through repentance and faith we can look forward to reaching our promised destination of eternity with Him now and forever.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. …In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:1-5)

Lord, thank You for guiding us on our life’s journey through every dark obstacle we face. Fill us with Your light and love, Your joy and peace as we focus on Your Word and grow into the people You want us to be. In Jesus’ name and for His glory, amen.