God is All You Need on the Highway of Life

Although my parents were on the road a lot when I was young, I never really went very far.  They traveled farther after I was grown and married. Until I was 50 years old I’d never been farther north than St. Louis, father east than Vicksburg, farther west than Sweetwater, TX and farther south than the Mexican border town of Matamoras. I had never been more than a day from home and never stayed away from home more than a few days. 

As we took our first trip, I pored over travel books, information brochures and maps. I didn’t want to miss a thing! The only problem was that there was more to see than we had time.  We couldn’t stay in the same place for more than 2 days. We had to move on.

While I thought at times we had taken the wrong road, we found wonderful delightful surprises everywhere we went! But sometimes I thought I had probably missed something on the road we didn’t take. What if’s would surface and I’d get in a foul mood.

You know you can overthink things and then you’re so busy thinking about what you may have missed that you can’t enjoy what’s right in front of you.  So I didn’t see the Big Tex statue in Amarillo. But I did get to ride through a herd of buffalo with my hubby on a motorcycle! I may have missed the Florida coast, but I got to meet a member of the Marshall Tucker Band on a motorcycle, who rode along with us and shared his faith!

I know there are so many choices in the world. Some of them have been made for us. Some we have made that we wish we hadn’t. Some are good choices, but we wonder could we have done better? Some were poor choices, bad roads full of potholes and road gators. We could just sit on the side of the road and bemoan the choice but then we’d get nowhere would we?

Oh beloved, you were meant to travel beyond the realm of your own making! You were meant to soar higher than the eagles, leap over walls and scale the mountains. But you can’t get there if you are worried about missed opportunities and past mistakes! Drop the load beloved and run to God’s Word to see what He says about you. He speaks with joy and love – He says to you this day I AM your road guide. I AM your way maker. I AM the redeemer of your past, the restorer of your day and the planner of your future! If you will let Me, I will make all things new. 

Don’t look back. Nobody can change a thing about the past. Let it all go and watch as God makes all things new especially for you – because He loves you and He’s for you and that’s all you need on the highway of life.

Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death. (Amplified)

Luke 12:28 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

I John 3:19-20 By this we shall come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we are of the Truth, and can reassure (quiet, soothe, and pacify) our hearts in His presence, Whenever our hearts, in tormenting self-accusation, make us feel guilty and condemn us. For we are in God’s hands. For He is above and greater than our consciences (our hearts), and He knows (perceives and understands) everything [nothing is hidden from Him]. 

Lamentations 3:22-23 The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.

Do's and Don'ts - God says Don't...Worry!

I hear my children telling their children, “don’t do that” and “do this” a lot! They are teachers you know. Their life’s call for the next 18 or so years is to teach their children and guide them to be upstanding citizens. As Christians their job is to make citizens of heaven as well.  Teach. Teach. Teach.  Every opportunity is a chance to teach something.

There are a lot of do’s and don’ts in this world.  The church is no different.  We have do’s and don’ts as well.  Sometimes, if we’re not careful we’ll major on the minors and find ourselves walking in rules instead of restoration. Regardless, there are many things the Lord wants to teach us and His heart’s desire is to keep us safe from harm and fit us for heaven to live with Him there (as the song goes).

So what are some of the do’s and don’ts? I cannot begin to list them all but I can tell you a couple as they come to mind this morning. God definitely wants you to know how to walk in His precepts, so that you will walk straightly in a crooked world.  This is simply because He loves you, just as parents love their children.

God says to you this morning, “Don’t worry!”  Period.  He means it! His Word is full of His counsel and He never misspeaks or gives wrong advice. To worry is to wrangle something and wrangling just wears the body mind and spirit out!   Worry is the opposite of faith. Worry is the opposite of love. Worry denotes that something is so amiss that even God can’t fix it.  But, God Himself says to you “Don’t worry about ANYTHING”.  When you rehearse it, what has ever changed by your worry? Nothing! But faith is action! Faith in God changes everything!

Oh beloved, what a marvelous lesson in faith to learn today! Being prone to worry myself, I can tell you that rest comes when we lay it all down and our Heavenly Father says to you this morning, Quit worrying about things. Those things that are troubling you, vexing your spirit, weighing down your heart. I love you, I AM on your side and I AM the One Who guides and leads you into My will.  Trust replaces worry, and faith grows from trust.  Trust Me. For I have the entire universe in My Hands and nothing is too difficult for Me! My love combined with My Word is an impenetrable fortress for you.  I love you now, I will love you forever and I will see you through this world all the way to heaven! Now isn’t that worth praising Me and letting go of worry?  

Psalm 107:20 He sends forth His word and heals them and rescues them from the pit and destruction. Amplified Bible

Psalm 37:1 “Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong.”

Proverbs 12:25  Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.

Luke 12:25-27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.

Psalm 16:8 I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me.

I Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.

Philippians 4:6  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.