“You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” (Deuteronomy 5:32, ESV)
I served a church in North Carolina before moving to Wisconsin. As I scour the news, tidbits from North Carolina often capture my attention.
Recently I came across the comment from a woman in North Carolina named Sharon Jaynes. Because she lives not far from where I used to live, I was interested. Sharon wrote the following:
“I live in Charlotte, North Carolina, 200 miles from the coast. And yet our local Wal-Mart has a random smattering of seagulls that soar overhead and eat French fries and other debris from neighboring fast food restaurants. The truth is the seagulls are lost. They’ve taken a wrong turn. And instead of discovering where they went wrong, they’ve settled for an asphalt parking lot rather than the salty sea. They’ve reconciled themselves to feeding on the refuse and trash of harried shoppers rather than the fresh seafood cuisine of their feathered forefathers.”
Sharon’s insight into those lost seagulls is an interesting one. Where these beautiful birds should be enjoying the environment on the coast, they are now languishing in a parking lot two hundred miles from where they were meant to be. They don’t belong there. Maybe during a storm, they were blown away from the coast. Maybe they migrated there for a season. Maybe they were lured there by lush waters of peaceful inland lakes. In all reality, these birds got sidetracked. For whatever reason, they are now tied to a parking lot in a big city, far removed from their natural environment.
It is not only seagulls that can become sidetracked. People can be sidetracked, too. They are lured away from goals or success or dreams. They are languishing away doing what they were never meant to do, caught up in a life they don’t want or need.
When Marie turned seventeen, she got a job at a neighboring farm. She loved animals. Even after a long day working on the farm, she came home with a smile on her face. She was doing what she enjoyed most. She dreamed of someday being a veterinarian.
At eighteen, Marie enrolled at a university to major in biology. She had entered that specific university because of its pre-veterinary program. If Marie could keep up her grades and take enough courses, she was on track to become a veterinarian by the time she was twenty-six years old.
In Marie’s sophomore year at the University, she met Jake. He was a fellow biology major. He also majored in chemistry. Jake had different dreams. He wanted to get a PhD in chemical engineering and do research. Marie and Jake hit it off. Both were highly intelligent. Both were excited to be working towards their degrees and excited about a possible future together. They moved in together to save money and pursue their relationship. Everything was going so well, that is, until Marie got pregnant.
Marie’s pregnancy changed everything in her life. When she told Jake that she was pregnant with their baby, the horror on Jake’s face drew her back. Where Marie thought the pregnancy was a blessing, Jake was worried that a baby would mess up their future and wreck their studies. Jake blamed Marie for the pregnancy. Jake wanted Marie to abort the baby. Marie, seeing herself as a deeply religious woman, wanted to keep the baby. The two began to argue about their situation. Those arguments went on for weeks until Jake finally moved out. Marie moved back home to have the baby, hoping to finish her degree after giving birth.
Five years later, Marie still has not gone back to finish her degree. She still lives with her parents. She waitresses at a hometown diner. She loves her baby boy. She still dreams of being a veterinarian someday. However, between long hours at work, a son who needs her, and parents who are aging, Marie’s life is too complicated for university studies. She resents Jake, who she feels abandoned her and their baby. She is mired in student loan debt. If you listen closely late on Friday nights after Marie puts her boy to bed, you will hear her sob in her room. Marie feels lost and alone.
Along the way to her dream, Marie got sidetracked. Now, her life is financially insecure, her dream of being a veterinarian is on hold, and her days are filled with working and being a mother. Sometimes, she blames God for her situation. Then, she comes to her senses and realizes that everything in her life became complicated when she met Jake, they moved in together, had sex without a thought of the consequences, and took on far too much debt in student loans.
The choices you make in life affect your future. Some of those choices may sidetrack your dreams, your goals, and even your faith. One friend in my seminary class dropped out, not because he didn’t feel a call by God to be in ministry, but because he took a well-paying job at a family business instead. He no longer desires to be a pastor. He has stopped attending worship, preferring to golf on Sunday mornings.
When I was young, a person in my church had a beautiful singing voice that many people thought would lead to leadership in the church choir, doing solos, and maybe even directing the choir. After getting a DUI while driving drunk, she was so embarrassed that she stopped coming to church altogether. She hasn’t sung a church hymn nor attended church in decades.
The scripture for today contains a warning given by God to the people of Israel. That warning is about getting sidetracked in faith. God pressed Moses to speak these words to Israel. God said, “You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” (Deuteronomy 5:32). These words were spoken just before the people of Israel entered the Promised Land. God did not want Israel to get spiritually sidetracked by worshipping other gods, by sinful practices, nor by poor choices. God wanted Israel to remain faithful to their call. God wanted the people to be obedient to the commandments. God wanted the people to keep true to their mission. Some of Israel remained true to God. Some did not. Some heeded God’s warning. Some got sidetracked on the road to eternity.
Life is full of choices. Your choices will not only define you, but they will also tell a story. I hope and pray your story isn’t full of mistakes and poor choices, where you got sidetracked from the road God had planned for you. God warned Israel in Deuteronomy to “not turn to the right or to the left” in their walk of faith.
Jesus also saw people who got sidetracked or who had jeopardized their faith. In His “Sermon on the Mount”, Jesus commented that “the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.” (Matthew 7:13). You will need to pass through many metaphorical gates in your life. Some of those gates lead to blessing. Some lead to nowhere. You might get sidetracked if “you turn to the left or to the right” instead of keeping straight toward the arms of God.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
The truth is, Lord, that I need You! I need Your wisdom. I need Your grace. I need Your strength. It is all too easy to stray from what is right.
In the name of Jesus, I come to You in this prayer. Keep me on the path of righteousness. Keep me from straying off into worldly thinking and lost causes. Let my eyes remain focused on Jesus. Let my heart be obedient to Your commands.
I pray today for all those who have lost their way. Some were waylaid by temptation. Some were lured by sin to stray away from Your direction. So many people do not understand the importance of their choices. Even little choices can cause a big adjustment on the way to eternity.
Today, I pray for the following people who need to return to You: _______________________ . I pray for our country and our world. I pray for those in need as well as those with something to hide. Every soul needs Your redemption. Every lost sheep needs to heed Your call. I love You, my Lord and God! Amen.
Recently I came across the comment from a woman in North Carolina named Sharon Jaynes. Because she lives not far from where I used to live, I was interested. Sharon wrote the following:
“I live in Charlotte, North Carolina, 200 miles from the coast. And yet our local Wal-Mart has a random smattering of seagulls that soar overhead and eat French fries and other debris from neighboring fast food restaurants. The truth is the seagulls are lost. They’ve taken a wrong turn. And instead of discovering where they went wrong, they’ve settled for an asphalt parking lot rather than the salty sea. They’ve reconciled themselves to feeding on the refuse and trash of harried shoppers rather than the fresh seafood cuisine of their feathered forefathers.”
Sharon’s insight into those lost seagulls is an interesting one. Where these beautiful birds should be enjoying the environment on the coast, they are now languishing in a parking lot two hundred miles from where they were meant to be. They don’t belong there. Maybe during a storm, they were blown away from the coast. Maybe they migrated there for a season. Maybe they were lured there by lush waters of peaceful inland lakes. In all reality, these birds got sidetracked. For whatever reason, they are now tied to a parking lot in a big city, far removed from their natural environment.
It is not only seagulls that can become sidetracked. People can be sidetracked, too. They are lured away from goals or success or dreams. They are languishing away doing what they were never meant to do, caught up in a life they don’t want or need.
When Marie turned seventeen, she got a job at a neighboring farm. She loved animals. Even after a long day working on the farm, she came home with a smile on her face. She was doing what she enjoyed most. She dreamed of someday being a veterinarian.
At eighteen, Marie enrolled at a university to major in biology. She had entered that specific university because of its pre-veterinary program. If Marie could keep up her grades and take enough courses, she was on track to become a veterinarian by the time she was twenty-six years old.
In Marie’s sophomore year at the University, she met Jake. He was a fellow biology major. He also majored in chemistry. Jake had different dreams. He wanted to get a PhD in chemical engineering and do research. Marie and Jake hit it off. Both were highly intelligent. Both were excited to be working towards their degrees and excited about a possible future together. They moved in together to save money and pursue their relationship. Everything was going so well, that is, until Marie got pregnant.
Marie’s pregnancy changed everything in her life. When she told Jake that she was pregnant with their baby, the horror on Jake’s face drew her back. Where Marie thought the pregnancy was a blessing, Jake was worried that a baby would mess up their future and wreck their studies. Jake blamed Marie for the pregnancy. Jake wanted Marie to abort the baby. Marie, seeing herself as a deeply religious woman, wanted to keep the baby. The two began to argue about their situation. Those arguments went on for weeks until Jake finally moved out. Marie moved back home to have the baby, hoping to finish her degree after giving birth.
Five years later, Marie still has not gone back to finish her degree. She still lives with her parents. She waitresses at a hometown diner. She loves her baby boy. She still dreams of being a veterinarian someday. However, between long hours at work, a son who needs her, and parents who are aging, Marie’s life is too complicated for university studies. She resents Jake, who she feels abandoned her and their baby. She is mired in student loan debt. If you listen closely late on Friday nights after Marie puts her boy to bed, you will hear her sob in her room. Marie feels lost and alone.
Along the way to her dream, Marie got sidetracked. Now, her life is financially insecure, her dream of being a veterinarian is on hold, and her days are filled with working and being a mother. Sometimes, she blames God for her situation. Then, she comes to her senses and realizes that everything in her life became complicated when she met Jake, they moved in together, had sex without a thought of the consequences, and took on far too much debt in student loans.
The choices you make in life affect your future. Some of those choices may sidetrack your dreams, your goals, and even your faith. One friend in my seminary class dropped out, not because he didn’t feel a call by God to be in ministry, but because he took a well-paying job at a family business instead. He no longer desires to be a pastor. He has stopped attending worship, preferring to golf on Sunday mornings.
When I was young, a person in my church had a beautiful singing voice that many people thought would lead to leadership in the church choir, doing solos, and maybe even directing the choir. After getting a DUI while driving drunk, she was so embarrassed that she stopped coming to church altogether. She hasn’t sung a church hymn nor attended church in decades.
The scripture for today contains a warning given by God to the people of Israel. That warning is about getting sidetracked in faith. God pressed Moses to speak these words to Israel. God said, “You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” (Deuteronomy 5:32). These words were spoken just before the people of Israel entered the Promised Land. God did not want Israel to get spiritually sidetracked by worshipping other gods, by sinful practices, nor by poor choices. God wanted Israel to remain faithful to their call. God wanted the people to be obedient to the commandments. God wanted the people to keep true to their mission. Some of Israel remained true to God. Some did not. Some heeded God’s warning. Some got sidetracked on the road to eternity.
Life is full of choices. Your choices will not only define you, but they will also tell a story. I hope and pray your story isn’t full of mistakes and poor choices, where you got sidetracked from the road God had planned for you. God warned Israel in Deuteronomy to “not turn to the right or to the left” in their walk of faith.
Jesus also saw people who got sidetracked or who had jeopardized their faith. In His “Sermon on the Mount”, Jesus commented that “the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.” (Matthew 7:13). You will need to pass through many metaphorical gates in your life. Some of those gates lead to blessing. Some lead to nowhere. You might get sidetracked if “you turn to the left or to the right” instead of keeping straight toward the arms of God.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
The truth is, Lord, that I need You! I need Your wisdom. I need Your grace. I need Your strength. It is all too easy to stray from what is right.
In the name of Jesus, I come to You in this prayer. Keep me on the path of righteousness. Keep me from straying off into worldly thinking and lost causes. Let my eyes remain focused on Jesus. Let my heart be obedient to Your commands.
I pray today for all those who have lost their way. Some were waylaid by temptation. Some were lured by sin to stray away from Your direction. So many people do not understand the importance of their choices. Even little choices can cause a big adjustment on the way to eternity.
Today, I pray for the following people who need to return to You: _______________________ . I pray for our country and our world. I pray for those in need as well as those with something to hide. Every soul needs Your redemption. Every lost sheep needs to heed Your call. I love You, my Lord and God! Amen.