Follow Me Vacation time of the year is here, and I was reminded a little about my summer travels as a child in my last lesson Finding Sharks Teeth. Each summer my family and I would drive across about four states to get to Texas where my grandparents lived. As a kid, the trip to get there seemed to last about two weeks when it really was only about two days' journey. The trip was long enough in itself so you hoped that you never saw the picture above on your journey. You see, we had OUR plans to go down the road at the speed we wanted. Our plans included neither detours nor any delays on our journey. In the picture above, notice what the sign says, "Pilot Car- Follow Me." One of the definitions of the word "pilot" in Webster's Dictionary is- guide. As you may know, this "Pilot Car" is to guide us through the road construction on the road ahead. The bad thing about pilot cars is that they move very slowly on their own timing (not what we wanted in our race to get to our planned destination). When you get behind one of these lead cars, you just putt along at a safe speed to guide you through the construction zone ahead. We can't see ahead to know what dangers that the guide car is leading us around, but we feel assured if we stay in line and follow the guide, we will come out safely through the danger zone and be on our way again to our end destination. What concerns me is that at times we don't want to stay behind this guide car. (Speaking of our life in general now.) There is certainly no fun in driving slow at times following the lead of the guide. It seems that life on our trip,(our life's journey), would be much more exciting if we pulled around this "pilot car" and drove down the road at the speed we wanted to go. You may think, "What's wrong with a little danger Robby? Live life in the fast lane!" My answer to you is, look again at the picture above. You may have not known that there was an 18-wheeler coming at you in the lane that you would have been traveling. (There are dangers to avoid on our life's journey.) And add to that - the truck is full of gasoline! The guide car knew what dangers were ahead in your journey; your free will allows you not to follow the guide if you so choose. Jesus makes a simple short statement in verse 19 in the Book of John chapter 21. He says, "Follow me!" (NIV) Just like following the pilot car in the picture above for guided safety around the perils that are ahead of you, following Jesus will guide you through and around the dangers in your road ahead. By your road ahead, I mean your future. In Psalms 48:14 the Bible says, "For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end." (NIV) One of the words used to describe God is omniscient, which means all knowing. Would you like to follow a guide that is all knowing about your future? I sure do. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 2:8, "...for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones." (NIV) Psalms 32:8 says, "The Lord says, 'I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." (New Living Translation) I don't know about you, but I can't see my future around that next curve. I plan to follow the One that says He will guide me along the best pathway for my life. I sometimes wish that He would also point out all of the potholes in my path as I follow His lead, but just like following that lead pilot car in the construction zone, that driver doesn't stop each time there is a pothole in the road and get out and point at it for me before I get to it. Potholes will be in our path even though we are following the pilot car. The difference is when I'm following the lead car; I have my eyes set on him. He's guiding me at a proper speed and direction so when I hit the potholes of life, it gives me a great jolt, but I stay on the path. If I decided to pass that pilot car and travel through the peril ahead on my own, at my chosen speed, that pothole that I hit may just cause me to steer down a cliff off the edge of the road. Jesus tells us in the Book of John 16:33 that we will hit potholes in our life. He says, "In this world you will have trouble." (NIV) But praise the Lord He doesn't stop there. He goes on to say in the same verse, "But take heart! I have overcome the world." Through Jesus we get the power to overcome the trials in our life. "For every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory." 1 John 5:4 (New Living Translation) Today I want to encourage you to stay behind the Pilot Car that says, "Follow Me!" At times you will be tempted to not follow and go down your own chosen highway. When you do this, the road directly in front of you may seem all smooth just like a wide new expressway with no speed limits posted. These are the temptations of this world offered by the prince of this world, Satan. He also has a road map to offer you with wide roads and no speed limits. Sounds fun, looks inviting...But The Pilot Car warns us to "Follow Me!" He knows the dangerous road ahead. He tells us, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." How do you find the narrow road? Follow The Pilot Car! Amen. Robby |
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