First Baptist Church of Herndon

Following Directions

Linda Soller | Oct 24, 2022

Some of us are better at following directions than others. There may be any number of reasons why we stray from doing what we are told. Clearly, not bothering to read the directions is the first step toward failure for many. I will not name names. But for the most part we may be distracted, or have a need to make a substitution, or perhaps we simply feel we have a better way. Regardless the end result is, often but not always, regret that we strayed. I have this problem with baking, in particular. The plan is always to follow the recipe (directions) but somewhere along the way I slip up. It can be as simple as a missed measurement that I elect to ignore, or an ingredient substitution because I’m out of the designated ingredient. My solution has been to put notes on my recipes of what I liked or didn’t like about the final result, but also when I failed to follow the directions. Live and learn so they say.

In our drop-in class we have been discussing hope in a world which seems to be spiraling out of control. We have looked at God’s attempts to help His people understand His expectations. And, in fairness, they always followed His directions for a while. Unfortunately, they also strayed from those same directions fairly often. Now and again, they realized the error of their ways but only after they found themselves in a very unhappy place. Sound familiar? Patiently God would give His directions again and wisely as usual He made two things very clear. First, any change would be on His time. This was not always His most popular direction. Secondly, and most importantly, He would be there through good times and bad, through heartache and happiness, through fearful times and celebrations. He is with us. This knowledge connects believers, but also binds us to God. He has given us tools to use to help make things better. We can vote for the people who lead us. We can be kind to others. We can tell those who need to hear about His love. We have His directions, and now is when we need to follow them.

Be the love in the world  :o)