I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
– John 10:10
Morning has broken.
The day starts well enough. The earth is turning, the sun is shining, and I’m breathing.
So far, so good.
Then the battle begins. A stray word or a look of irritation from someone annoys me. A myriad troubles are dumped upon my path.
It never takes much to drive me from the beautiful world to which I awakened. It’s easy to embark on the bus to nowhere, revisiting old hurts and traveling painful roads that should have been long-abandoned.
I’m always over-packed for these trips because it requires so much baggage. It’s hard to travel light when you’re headed out the door to a pity party.
Before long, I’m out of gas. I’m all alone on a back road because no one wanted to make this trip with me.
Ironically, I’m holding the ticket to a better destination.
Since Jesus bought my way out of my private hell and reserved a place for me in His kingdom, I have no reason to ride the rails of self-pity. Every day can be a place of new discovery in a wonderland of His creation.
When my brain is overloaded, I can simply fly away into a place of freedom by thinking about God’s blessings. When my heart is hurting, I can be instantly at His throne of grace. When I am lost, I can find new direction by going no farther than to my knees. I can travel through time in God’s Word to new worlds of faith told in the great stories of past pilgrimages.
It’s amazing how much lost time I can make up by simply getting my eyes back on the right road. I’m tired of riding the bus to nowhere, going around in circles and wasting this beautiful life God has given me on side roads of worry and sorrow. God is calling me on a journey to the highlands. But it takes a special vehicle to get me there.
It’s a bus called Praise.
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
– 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
