Look There, Go There

Oh, how easily we are swayed by the latest popular opinion in the world. Like children, we will believe anything that sounds good or helps us to rationalize our behavior. There are so many opinions and points of view that sound like they must be true. So how do we know what to believe, what the truth really is? The absolute Truth is the Word of God, whether we like what it says or not. If we spend time reading his Word, we won’t be so easily enticed by the latest trend of thought.

Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Ephesians 4:14

This is the kind of maturity I want to have. To be able to stand strong in what I know to be true. The Truth doesn’t change. The Bible is the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). That means that ALL of it is true, not just the parts that I like, or that go along with the current popular opinion. I don’t get to pick and choose which parts I am going to believe. I will have faith in what He says, even if I don’t understand it.

Faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 3:8). I didn’t produce it by myself. He planted it in my heart and as I ask for more he gives it freely. It didn’t just happen by accident, I didn’t cause it to happen by force. It is a gift that I accepted, just like His love. I unwrapped it, asked Him for more, and he blessed it and caused it to grow and grow. But I need the Word to back up my faith when I am questioned.

Picture this…we are all standing in quicksand, slowly sinking into the world, where Satan roams freely. We can fight to keep from sinking, to keep our heads above the surface, but everything we try to do under our own power just makes us sink faster. Jesus is standing on the solid ground and reaches out his hand. He doesn’t grab us without our consent, he is a gentleman. He holds out his hand and waits. All we have to do is reach out and take it. We are never so far under the surface that we can’t reach his hand. As soon as we touch one fingertip we begin to rise from the quicksand. As long as we stay still and hold on tight, He will raise us back up to solid ground. And the more Truth we know, the more solid ground is under our feet.

So why does it seem so hard if it’s really that easy? Because we keep looking at the quicksand. The enemy is lurking around every corner, just waiting to trip us up. When we reach up to touch His hand, the enemy tries to grab our feet to pull us back down. It’s so easy to get distracted. One of my horseback riding instructors had a saying, “look there, go there”. It was meant to keep our eyes up while going over a jump so we didn’t end up on the ground. It applies here too. Look up! When we look down at the world and all of its trappings, our grip on Jesus starts to slip and we start to sink. But when our eyes are focused on Him, the enemy cannot keep hold of our feet. Satan is not nearly strong enough to pull you under if you are focused on Jesus with a tight grip on his hand.

We are each in our own personal quicksand pit. Jesus is standing above you with his hand outstretched. You can choose to look up and take his hand…or not. No matter what you choose, He will still be standing there holding out his hand for you until the end of time. That’s how much he loves you. It’s never too late to look there, and go there.