A New Path for 2010

Salut! and welcome to my new blog Things Hoped For . I have been wanting to start a blog for sometime now. My husband, after hearing me ponder the idea, dream about the idea, and do just about everything with the idea, except actually start a blog, gave me the most wonderful surprise for Christmas. He arranged to have Kelly from FabulousK Creative design the header/background, etc. for my new blog. His gift was exactly the impetus I needed to put the pen to the page (metaphorically speaking) and start writing. So, thanks Bobby! Hopefully, the blog will get a much needed makeover from Kelly soon, but I couldn't wait any longer to get started!

During our drive back to Winston-Salem, after spending a delightful Christmas in South Carolina with our family, Bobby and I listened to a sermon by one of our favorite pastors, Andy Stanley. As his name suggests, Andy Stanley is Charles Stanley's son and the pastor of NorthPoint Community Church in Atlanta. (I have my dad to thank for getting me hooked on Andy's sermons--he's listened to nearly all of them!) God has gifted Andy with the ability to deliver His Word in a profound, yet simple way that forces you to put aside all of the preconceived notions you might have about a given Scripture. And, he's hilarious to boot! If we ever move to Atlanta, I would love to be able to attend NPCC or Buckhead Church, but until then, I'll settle for the podcast.

Anyway, the message that Bobby and I were listening to that Sunday afternoon was from Andy's series entitled "Destinations." (You can find it in the NorthPoint podcast on iTunes.) In the first message in the series, Andy introduces us to what he calls "The Principle of the Path," based in part on Proverbs 7. The principle of the path is this: "Direction, not intention, determines our destination."

As Andy suggests, this principle at first seems intuitive, obvious even. But, when we transpose this principle from the world of geography to the world of everyday life, the implications are staggering. To further borrow from Andy's analogy, most of us realize that if we drive up I-95 north, we will not end up in Florida - no matter how badly we want to go to Florida, or even how desperately we intend to go to Florida. And, yet, somehow, when it comes to the paths we take in life, there's a disconnect. In everyday life, we stubbornly maintain that the desire to end up a certain place is enough to get us there. The truth is, only the paths we choose determine our ultimate destination!

At the end of his message, Andy gives a list of very common ways that the disconnect is manifested in our lives. I was so convicted by the simple truth of Andy's message that I began to reflect upon the ways "the disconnect" was manifested in my life in 2009. I'll share just a few:

• "I want to know God more than I want anything else in the world, so I'll watch TV more and read the Bible less."
  

• "I want to experience the Sabbath rest of God and the peace that passes all understanding, so I'll work harder, do more, strive more, and maybe one day I'll find it."

• "I need to get in better shape and maintain a more balanced diet, so I'll just eat one more donut and drink one more coke."

Those are only a few examples of the disconnect in my life--there are many more! After recognizing the disconnects in my life, I began to long for a new path for 2010. I realized that, in order to chart a new path, I must choose a new direction. Similarly, to set my direction, I must first determine my destination. As I contemplated this, I was reminded of the verse in Hebrews, where Paul exhorts believers:

"Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross." Hebrews 12:1b-2 (NIV)

Not only does this verse reveal the destination I was searching for (Jesus!), it also demonstrates our Savior's perfect implementation of "The Principle of the Path." And, what a marvelous picture it is!! Scripture tells us that as the time of his crucifixion drew near, Jesus set his face like flint toward Jerusalem. (Isaiah 50:7, Luke 9:51) Jesus never veered from the path. There were no disconnects in his thinking. With singular focus, Jesus walked the path that led toward our salvation. A path that required him to suffer the most brutal death on a cross. All for the joy set before him. What joy, you might ask? "The joy of bringing salvation to the ones he loves."* What better reason to run on the path that leads us into the arms of such a Savior?

I invite you to embark with me on a new path in 2010. As we begin, we can take comfort in this word from Psalms 32:8: "The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." (NLT).


*(Morris, The Expositor's Bible Commentary)