July 6, 2009

1 Thessalonians 3:1 May God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you!

Summer is a time when many people hit the road for new destinations for their vacations. With GPS systems we never need to stop and ask directions, for which all males are thankful. But my daughter informs me that the GPS will not always factor in road construction or other temporary detours. You can still get bogged down in traffic even with modern technology. In the above passage Paul asks God to clear the road so he can travel to these people he longs to see. Does God really go before us as we live our lives and open some paths while closing others? That seems to have been Paul’s experience. Even when things didn’t go the way Paul hoped or expected he still believed that God was actively involved in the way things turned out and never stopped asking that the road be made clear. If life is a journey then whose journey is it? Ours alone? Or one that God has prepared for us? Certainly life can have its detours and difficulties. Are we left to work them out on our own or can we ask and trust God to make a way? We know what Paul thought. You probably can guess what I think. What about you?

Don