GOD GOES FIRST

Joshua 3:1-4:24; Luke 14:7-35; Psalm 80:1-19; Proverbs 12:27-28

“When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before…. Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."

“And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you.”

“Turn us again to yourself, O God. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.”

What is it about men and directions? I would happily drive five miles out of my way than admit to a wrong turn. (Of course, my dear, sweet wife invariably sees through the ruse, and gloats. It’s so unattractive….) For me, though, its not the asking for directions that’s the real problem. It’s the stopping for help. It’s the distraction, the diversion. Pretty simple, actually: I am bent on getting ahead of myself. And I’m not above getting ahead of God, either. This is wrong on many levels. The worst is that, if we are on the wrong road, the faster we go and the more “efficient and productive” we are, the more lost we get. And the more chances we have to mess things up worse when we try to get back on course.

God knows this. It’s why He commanded the Hebrews to follow the Levites into the Jordan River when they crossed into the Promised Land. Imagine being there at the culmination of a generation of longing, of waiting, of disappointment and disillusion. Who wants to wait for a bunch of priests with a giant trunk on their back to lead them into Canaan? But there was a lesson here. If we are going to travel on the Lord’s path at all, then God has got to go first, and we need to consistently focus on Him first. The sad truth is we don’t know the way. We simply are incapable of sticking to the straight and narrow on our own. We get off course, and wonder why the water suddenly gets so deep.

There is nothing wrong with initiative, or enthusiasm… in measured doses. That said, though, we also need to remember that adrenalin can be addictive. “Progress” can get good to us – and it may be good – but if it becomes more about our own achievement than God’s grace, we are headed down a dark and twisted road indeed.

One of the things that truly makes my soul sing is directing dramatic stage productions. The creativity involved is significant, but seeing an idea being birthed into reality by the actors is truly an incredibly exciting experience. For those who direct screenplays or stage plays, very little compares to the pure rush of a good show realized. But imagine, after dress rehearsal, if the actors’ excitement gets the best of them, and they decide to ad lib and improvise on opening night. Simply, the show they present will not be the show they rehearsed, and they are likely to have one disappointed director. The parable needs no explanation.

As the saying goes, it’s not rocket science, either. It is an oft-ignored fact. No matter how well intended, when we get ahead of Christ, the results are predictably less than satisfactory, to us and to Him. It is good to prepare, to plan, and even to take up our crosses in the assurance that the Spirit will empower us to do what we are purposed to do by our Heavenly Father. But it is best, always, to follow Christ. He knows the way. He doesn’t get lost, or lose those who follow Him. And He never, ever, needs to ask for directions. He drew the map, after all.