A Reading
Judah’s defences have been stripped away. You run to the armoury for your weapons. You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem. You store up water in the lower pool. You survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls… But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago. (Isaiah 22: 8-11)
A Thought
Winter ended on Tuesday. Needing a break and some exercise, I decided to go out in the mild but windy weather for a short cycle ride. I looked at the trees for an assessment of the wind direction, and decided upon a clockwise route around my triangle so that I had the shortest leg against the wind.
I started along the short leg of my triangle and was feeling good. It is a while since I have been in the saddle, and I had expected to feel more tired. It was not until I turned onto the longest leg of the triangle (Kettering Road into Old) that I realised I had made a mistake about the wind.
The wind was relentless, straight ahead of me and roaring in my ears. I dropped a gear as I peddled slowly downhill. Worse was to come on the ascent into Old. There was no shelter from the hedges. I dropped another gear and progress slowed further. My legs were getting tired, and I longed for the final stretch home, with the wind assistance along Mill Lane to propel me towards tea and sympathy.
Along the Kettering Road, I thought about how we can make bad decisions and make life hard for ourselves when we don’t ask God for his help and guidance.
On big issues, we often choose to go it alone, confident in our own abilities and solutions. But God invites us to turn to him first for what we need.
This does not mean asking God to be involved in every daily decision to be made, but to invite God daily into our lives so that we are always conscious of his presence. Then we will not forget to ask for his help on the big decisions that we need to address.
With God on the case, we can relax a little and let God share the load. Thank goodness for that following wind!
A Prayer
Today, loving God, I turn to You first,
With all my challenges, large and small.
Amen