Because I am prone to miss a turn or exit, I use my phone’s GPS chronically. One of the benefits is a very accurate ETA. The other day, I was on my way to visit my Nanny when I got stuck behind a string of cars that were driving abnormally slow for the far left lane. As I puttered along in the no-puttering lane, I began to feel a little anxiety about arriving at my grandmother’s late. I checked the time on my GPS and saw that the arrival time hadn’t changed despite the hangup, and anxiety evaporated. My GPS’s past ETA predictions had been certain and faithful in the past; I didn’t need to worry about this small section on the highway derailing my arrival time to my destination.
In a couple of big ways, my life has hit its own version of a ‘traffic jam’: my job is on the line because of the vaccine policy at work and my husband and I have been trying for two years to get pregnant with no avail. It is easy to be a little anxious about where this is all going and how long it will take to get there!
While stuck in the lane I’ve found myself in, I’ve been meditating on a verse from my memory work this year:
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity…
The promise is that when a person decides to do right, to live by righteousness, to obey God, to trust Him enough to obey him, He promises to be the shield against whatever will come as a result of being obedient. And because He said it, it’s sure–more sure than my GPS! I don’t need to be anxious or worry because He’s perfectly faithful to His own Word, and in that I can rest.
This is how it can be a delight to obey, even though it’s hard. Even when the external circumstances are less than or are lacking or are in want, He is my shielding shepherd. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He’s promised to protect me. In fact, as the Psalmist tells us, in the presence of my enemies–any troubles, really–He prepares a table to feast at, he anoints my head with oil (Psalm 23:5). And because of that, in the midst of the slow-going on what I thought was the fast lane, I can say:
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
What you’ll find here is a collection of musings, thoughts, writings, and ramblings about things I’m reading, watching, and thinking about. It’s my goal to inspire, encourage, and instruct my fellow sisters in their walk with Jesus and their understanding of the Word.
- Erika Recommends: Best Books of 2021 - December 15, 2021
- Slow-Going in the Fast Lane - October 14, 2021
- A Taste You Can Feel In Your Cheeks - September 29, 2021
