Stumbling around in the dark...

1 John 1:5-7 "This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."

When Joan and I were first married, I worked swing shift at Douglas Aircraft Co. so we could  both finish our senior year of college and graduate together.  I would get off work at 1:00 a.m., ride my bike home, and enter our tiny one-bedroom apartment as quietly as possible so as not to wake her.  I didn't turn the light on, and occasionally that proved to be a painful mistake.  You see, Joan likes to rearrange furniture and as I tiptoed across the living room, I would bang my shin into something that wasn't there when I left for work 8 hours earlier.

It's like that in my spiritual life.  There have been times when I was so full of myself, focused on what I wanted, confident of where I was going, that I didn't take time to seek God's counsel.  I assumed that He was leading me when, in fact, I was walking my own path.  Before long I became disoriented, bumping into things, stumbling around in the dark.

How I thank God that, although I was lost, He knew where I was all along.  You see, He had implanted His personal GPS in my heart - the Holy Spirit - and although I had wandered off track, I was never off His "radar".  All I had to do was acknowledge my stubbornness and follow the Voice  back to Him.

Dear Lord,  thank You for being patient and persistent with me over the years. You know that my heart's desire is to follow You, to honor You, to make You proud of me.  You also know how easily I lose focus and become sidetracked.  Please help me to listen closely to You, to discern Your will, and stay on Your path today.   Amen.