A Pathway to Success
Ella, who's now three, told me her wake up strategy for the morning,
"Daddy, in the morning, when I wake up, I am going to come to your
room, and come to your side of the bed and cuddle with you." I told her I
was looking forward to it and tucked her in bed. The following morning, I
woke up early with a lot on my mind. I then heard Ella's door open. She
ran down the hallway, and said, "Good morning, daddy." She climbed in
bed and snuggled into my arms. My perspective on the day shifted in that
moment. Later in the morning when I had some time to pray, my mind
was reengaged with all that I had to do, but then I remember that
moment, and my heart was filled with gratitude for what a gift Ella is to
me. This led to a stream of thanksgiving to God for so many blessings in
life.
It is easy to forget God's many graces. It is easy to get overwhelmed by
our responsibilities. It is easy to focus on negative things in the world. It is
easy lose faith when we have learned again and again that God is faithful.
It is easy to rely on our own strength. We, however, all have a pathway to
access God's peace and strength for our lives.
Writing from prison, because he was being persecuted for his faith, the
apostle Paul exhorted fellow believers saying,
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!... Do not be
anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus... whatever is true... noble... right... pure... lovely...
admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such
things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen
in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you... I have
learned the secret of being content in any and every situation... I can do
all this through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:4-13)."
This scripture passage contends that no matter what a person is going
through, God's peace and strength can be accessed through joy over God's
grace, through prayer co-mingled with thanksgiving, through a focus on
what is praiseworthy, through faith put into practice, and through Christ
who gives strength to all who ask for it.
You have a pathway to access, so access your pathway. Throughout the
history of the church, Christians have discussed how to renew one's soul
and experience a deeper relationship with God. Contemporary writers,
such as Gary Thomas in his book Sacred Pathways, point out that different
people may more readily connect with God through different pathways,
such as: spending time in God's creation, or sensing God through time
alone with him, or focusing rituals and symbols, or serving others, or
studying truths about God. You know yourself. You know this season of
your life. You know that you need God's peace and strength. You are the
one who has to make this a priority in your life. Commit to pursuing God in
a particular pathway in your day to day life, and be willing to interrupt
your routine to spend a half-day or day of quality time with God. Whatever
you decide to do, remember the truths of this scripture passage, approach
God with gratitude for his grace and with trust in his power. If you need
God's peace and strength now, take a moment and open your heart afresh
to Him.
We also need to remember we have this pathway to offer to others. The
best support we can offer a family member or a friend is to encourage
them to turn to God in their time of need. If this is something unfamiliar
to them or if this is a particularly difficult time for them, then we can offer
to go to God with them and pray for God's peace and strength together.