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Road Blocks
Hello everyone. I just wanted to wish a Happy Father’s Day to all those dads out there and a special Happy Father’s Day to my Dad and my Grandpo. Though I can’t be there with you in person this weekend, know that I do love you and that you’re always in my prayers.
I had no idea what I was going to write about this week. A few different topics came to mind, but as I tried to write about them I just kept coming to a “Road Block” in my writing. So I opened up my “column ideas” folder that I keep for a rainy day and I ran across a column I started writing awhile back. I guess it was about a year or so ago when this happened to me.
I was driving home from work one morning, tired as usual, so I wasn’t really at 100% attention wise. I turned down Hackett Dr. (the street I used to live on) and there’s a curve before you get to the apartments I lived at. Well, as soon as I turned, there was a shed/building right smack in the middle of the street. I had to turn real quick to avoid it. I thought to myself, “WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD LEAVE THAT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD?” For the next week or so, there it was. Everyday I had to drive around that stupid thing. You have no idea how many times I wanted to just run it right over.
I’ve been down that street a million times (or close to it) so I know it like the back of my hand (who really knows the back of their hand, though). I can drive it pretty much with my eyes closed. What if I had done that when the shed was there, though? BOOM! I would have hit it and messed up my truck, and trust me, I know my poor little truck needs no more accidents.
Relating this story to our own personal lives, sometimes we tend to get comfortable in our Christian walks. We get used to the same old routines. We drive the same road every day and it becomes just something we do. Sometimes we get to the point where we think we have it all together and we stop putting our focus on God and let our own natural abilities take control. That’s when we are in danger of crashing into that building in the middle of the road.
1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
We say it all the time here, but we really need to “Put Him First” and make God the focus of everything we do. The enemy is really trying to take you out. He would like nothing better than to see you crash into that “Road Block”. That’s why at all times we need to be in prayer.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.”
Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
How do we as Christians keep from getting to that point where we lose that fire and zeal for God? How do we keep from becoming stagnant? How do we stay on top of our game?
I was talking to my little brother Josh the other day and he was telling me about a 3 on 3 basketball tournament he played in. He told me I should have flew down and played with him. I started thinking about the last time I played basketball, and well…it’s been a really long time. Now imagine me coming out of “retirement” and playing in a basketball tournament. How effective would I have been? Now I still got some skills and could school a few people on the court, but I haven’t shot a ball in a long time. I haven’t run in a long time. I haven’t played to the physical level that I would have needed to play eight games in one Saturday.
In order for me to play basketball like I know I can, I need that practice. I need to train my body to endure the grind of that many games in one day. I need to be shooting a thousand shots a day to get my touch just right. I can just see myself now after the tournament if I would have played. I wouldn’t be able to move for the next week, ha.
The same goes for our Christian walk. We need to stay sharp and ready. We need to stay tuned up in prayer and in the Word of God. When we do that we will be able to see clearly those “Road Blocks” the enemy puts in front of us. It’s then that we will be able to keep pressing forward and dodge those attacks of the enemy. I pray you have a blessed week!!!
w/muchluv,
geno
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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