The Gift That Lifts
By Pastor Timothy Burdick
"The
Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy
your needs in a sun-scorched land and will
strengthen your frame. You will be like a
well-watered garden, like a spring whose
waters never fail" (Isaiah 58:11)
I would like to look at the
guidance He provides with you, but first,
here is a short story to illustrate what I
am trying to say.
As a blind person, I've
noticed there are some funny things that
happen when using a guide dog, so I would
like to give you an example. One day, I had
just gotten off work. My dog had become used
to guiding me outside, and he would look for
the van that took me home. When he thought
he saw it, I followed him, but the vehicle
turned out to be a UPS truck!
Now in comparison, let’s
look at God’s leading, which is perfect;
infinitely better than a guide dog. If we
use the Word "gift" to look at the process
in which we learn to be guided by the Lord,
the letter "G" stands for "Guidance." Things
may not always be smooth sailing, but God
will never lead you on to a UPS truck so to
speak. In other words, God has a perfect
plan for your life. Many times, we wonder:
"Why me?" when things don’t turn out right.
That leads us to the next letter in the word
"gift," namely "I."
The letter "I" stands for
the little word "In" and this word, though
small, is very important. That is because
the Bible stresses the fact that we are to
live in a relationship of constant communion
with God. This can only be done, by staying
in prayer and in the Word.
The letter "F" stands for
"Follow." One rule guide dog instructors
stress to the visually impaired is to FOLLOW
your dog. While the dogs do make mistakes as
seen above, they are very rare, and I have
to say that it beats not having a guide dog.
In the same way that one would follow a
guide dog, we must follow Christ. We cannot
afford to run ahead of His leading or run
behind what He intends for our lives.
In order to achieve a walk
with Christ that is consistent, we must end
with the letter "T." This stands for
"Trust." Trusting Christ is the secret to
real Christian joy. Joy is the gift that God
wants to give you today because of trusting
in Him, so that even when the road is bumpy,
you will rejoice in Christ. Furthermore, I
believe that if you follow this g-i-f-t
idea, new doors will open to you, and His
guidance will become more and more real in
your life.
Visit Pastor Timothy at New Vision Ministries website www.mynvm.org
Visit Friday Study Ministries
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org
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