Wild Ride

It was a beautiful day for a trip. Our vacation with the kids and three grandgirlies had been wonderful and now we were all off to visit Granddad in Pasadena. We figured it would take about six hours to drive from the Bay Area to Southern California. As the hours passed, disgruntled voices from the back of the van could be heard. "She's glaring at me!" "Her stuff is on my side!" "That's mine!" "Are we there yet?" "I'm hungry!" The close confines of a car seat, long hours on the road, and boredom created the perfect environment for frayed tempers and harsh words that filtered up to the front. Those little girls were just about done. It reminds me of the story I have been reading about the children of Israel and their journey in the wilderness to the Promised Land. "We don't have any food!" "There is no water!" "I don't like this food, I want meat!" "Why did we ever leave Egypt?" They complained, whined, argued, bickered, and pouted just like any group of children. Moses, their leader, constantly reprimanded them for their stubbornness and disobedience. Yet, God was there each step of the way and patiently supplied them with what they needed. He provided manna each morning for them to eat. He poured water out of a rock in the middle of the desert. Quail, too numerous to count, fell to the ground for them to roast. Their shoes never wore out (as a shoe person, this caught my attention). Time and again they whimpered about their missing comforts. Their memories were so short that going back to Egypt as slaves seemed like a better alternative. How often do we mistake the past as the best time in our lives? Even when God promised them a land flowing with milk and honey, prosperity, long life, and health, they just could not seem to wrap their minds around it and their hearts were too stubborn to listen.

"Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NLT)


Are you struggling with a choice today? Are you willing to trust God for the next step or do you want to go back to the familiar? We can't keep wandering in our own desert and assume that He will solve our current crisis if all we do is whine and complain. God's offer far exceeds our expectations but we have to choose it over the fading glitz of today or yesterday. Don't look back, but be bold and step out—taking hold of the promise of life that only He can give. Commit your life to Him and be ready for a wild ride—that is the key to life!