When I was setting out for my regular morning walk, I thought to myself, “I am going to go in a different direction today.” We can get so used to always walking the same route and always doing the same things in the same way. With our faith in God, we can take the risk of doing something different in a different way,. This could lead to a whole new understanding of God and His Presence in our lives and His will for us. The choice to be willing to walk a different route could result in a fresh encounter with our God, the Living God. In order for us to trust God for the possibility of walking in a new way and on a new way, we will need the assurance of His Presence with us. We can find this assurance in Scripture: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9) When we pray, we can claim this promise that the Lord our God will be with us wherever we go. Knowing that God accompanies us always can give us the courage to walk a new path that we had not considered before. This week our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow April 26th at 1 pm will affirm our trust in God when we are not sure where a new path may lead.
Praying that we will be strong and courageous for the possibility of a new path that God has for us, Pastor Lola
Thank You our God for this gift of faith in you. Throughout our lifetimes, we have seen and experienced that You have been with us wherever we have gone. We admit to You that it is easy for us to fall into familiar patterns of repeatedly doing the same things in the same ways. This can be good, yet we do not want this to keep us from openness to new ways of living for You and new experiences of You and Your loving Presence in our lives. Sometimes our hesitation to consider a new path has to do with our uncertainty of what that will mean for us. We wonder how we will respond to new challenges. We do want to trade being afraid and discouraged for being strong and courageous. The only way we can do this is if we claim Your promise and recall that You are with us wherever we go. We rest in the assurance that You are available to lead us and to guide us. As springtime is introducing new signs of life all around us, we want to see new signs of life in us. We invite You God to bring these about as You continue Your holy work in us and through us. Where there is faith that is ready to blossom in fresh ways, we invite that. Where there is new growth in becoming more like Jesus, we long for that. God, there are times when the world we live in seems like such an unlikely place to find strength and courage. There are multiple circumstances that could stifle growth in faith. We know that wanting to walk in the way You have for us will require continued dependence on You. Our God, we pray that we will not limit our expectations of what You can do. As we walk new paths of commitment to You and Your direction for our lives, we do want to be strong and courageous. We are well aware of our weaknesses and lack of capacity for the challenges we face when we move into new territory. If it were not for you and Your promised accompaniment, we cannot imagine taking the risk to step onto a new and unexplored path. And God we do want to be aware of others that we meet on a new path. If we had not taken that risk and trusted You to guide us, we would have missed meeting with and sharing life with others who are also earnestly seeking You and looking for Your presence on an unfamiliar path. Sometimes those who travel with us on a different path than usual are struggling. They do not know that You are available to walk with them and to give them strength and courage. How can we be those who generously share our faith in You? If our willingness to walk on a new path leads to encounters with those we have not yet met and those who have not yet known You then we welcome that. Please guard us against resistance to change. Please guard us against putting off the inclination to explore a new direction. We are asking God that every day You will prompt us and show us what our lives could be for You. Please set us free from regret over wasted time and move us to embrace the possibilities of the time we have in today and each coming day. As you show us the way, we want to walk in it. In Jesus’ Name. AMEN.