I live on a rural road. The kind of road where there are absolutely no street lights. The road is black. Headlights are great but bright lights are even better.
One night as I drove home, well after the sun had gone down, I realized that even with my brights on, I could only see about five to seven of those yellow lines.
You know.
The lines that keep you on your side of the street and that give you guidance as you drive.
As I approached a curve, I realized that those five to seven yellow lines gave just enough warning for me to know that I needed to bend my wheel slightly to the right to stay on the asphalt. That small shift in the yellow lines was clearly marked. But I only saw it because my eyes were on the road.
Hearing from God and knowing which moves to make is a lot like driving down my rural road. Many times, he only gives us just enough guidance to get us a few hundred feet further. No more. No less. And if we want to clearly know when we need to bend or turn, we have to be paying attention. We have to keep our eyes on his road for us.
Follow the Yellow Lines…
We have to keep our eyes on Him.
And if we take our eyes off of Him for just one second, it is totally possible to miss the signal that he is offering to us as we journey along.
It would be great if God gave us the WHOLE plan for our lives up front, right? I wish sometimes this was the case. I wish that he would tell me exactly what turns were coming and how long the curves would last. Sometimes I hope that he will give me a sign. Scream my name if he has to or jump in front of me and make me stop, turn, or reverse in response to his roadblock.
But I’ve learned that while God won’t force Himself on us, He does absolutely speak and give us guidance. He won’t reach down from heaven with a holy stick and “whack” us until we choose to stay in line. In contrast, He speaks gently and encourages us to follow His way if we so choose.
So let me encourage you today to choose.
Choose to pay attention. Choose to sing even when you are frustrated with the lack of light you have on your road. Choose to be grateful for whatever little yellow lines God has placed on your path to give you signals, guidance, or direction as you walk, run, or even crawl along in your journey.
And rest assured that God will absolutely give you all of the information you need…
… Just when you need it.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27 (ESV)
I can so relate to this!!! It would be great to know every step and every move we need to make — far in advance, but then I think we would miss what God is trying to show us. We may miss the turn because we are too focused on what is ahead or what is to come. I am slowly learning to enjoy the process. Enjoy what the bank statement may say right now, enjoy the piles of dirty laundry, enjoy the endless chores each week, enjoy the busy days and the slow days. Embrace all that God is revealing and to never get so sidetracked that I stop GROWING! And it’s all a CHOICE! So many things have happened in the past few days that I have taken notice to that I would have simply overlooked if it hadn’t been for God. Thanks for sharing this as well as your AMAZING podcast! It has been a blessing to me.. I am choosing to CELEBRATE!
Your post made me smile! I can FEEL your excitement!
Hi Chrystal,
I’m new to your podcast and I’m hooked! It’s so nice to follow and relate to such a down to earth sista. I am a mother of five and a grandmother of sixteen and I tell you everything you are relating to your listeners and readers is right on! For most of what you are going through, I’ve been there, done that and and a bag of chips! Any way, you go girl!!! Sure wished there were inspirations such as this available for me when my husband and I were raising our children back in the 90’s. I’m trying to tell every young mother I know about your podcast. I know it will be a blessing to them. Keep up the good work and God Bless!
Wow! Such a compliment to be encouraged by someone who has lived thru a season or two. I appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Thank you,Chrystal,This what I needed! God,has me on a road and I don’t know what is up a head! My husband has cancer and now I’m starting with some health issues. We are in our middle 60 and not sure what our next move will be. As we both still work! But, I know that God is walking on this road with us! and He is only light up a little of the road at a time. Again thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the encouragement!
My pastor once gave a fantastic sermon when he brought out a flashlight and a lantern. He said that God’s guidance is NOT like a flashlight where it would show us a determined path to take. Instead, He guides us like a lantern, so that we can only see a few steps in front of us. God will ALWAYS let us know our first couple of steps to take – and we can handle those. Although it’s difficult sometimes for me to live in the present, there are times when we have to live moment by moment, minute by minute, hour by hour – just to get by. When we keep taking 1-2 steps at a time, when we look back, we have walked through whatever it was that we needed to walk through. God is beside us, we just need to reach out for His hand and hold on tight!
This gave me a good laugh “He won’t reach down from heaven with a holy stick and “whack” us until we choose to stay in line” Thank goodness he doesnt because I would be beaten to a pulp by now with that holy stick! “In contrast, He speaks gently and encourages us to follow His way if we so choose.” Thankful that he does gently encourage us. Thankful he does give me my yellow lines in life to follow because hes given me the way forward but oh boy its hard sometimes. He’s asked me to give up a friendship in order to move me to the next level and I always thought in my mind I could do it if I had to but now I have to travel down that road each day is a struggle. But he encourages me each step of the way. Isn’t God great because he is our biggest chearleader in life!
This morning I felt God sharing with me that where I am is where I’m supposed to be. I’ve been restless and worried: what is the next step, where am I, did I make the right turn, is God speaking, why can’t I hear, what should I do, ah, exhausting! But He quietly reminded me of Psalm 37:23 the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord. I have to be confident and believe that where ever I am, there I am, there I will be until the Lord moves me. Promotion doesn’t come from east or west, but from the Lord. I have to be assured that when it is time for the next step it will be abundantly clear. Until then, I am choosing to be content and rest.
Hello Chrystal,
I just wanted to let you know that I truly enjoy your podcast and your website. You are such an inspiration. Thanks for the advice…. Whenever I become stressed and overwhelmed I begin to sing a positive song and it truly helps.