Are You Lost?

Sometimes life is a bit like an unknown jungle or a maze!

In the jungle, there are tall trees rising up out of heavy undergrowth, interspersed with many different tracks and pathways and, apparently, no signposts. I once watched a film, telling the story of what happened to a boy who was lost in the forests of the Pacific North West. Whichever way he looked, all the pathways through the forest looked the same – there was no indication whatsoever as to which was the way out. From ground level the jungle is an impossible barrier to escape from.

In many of our great houses, the gardeners built a maze of thick, high hedges, for the entertainment of the family and visitors. The more complicated the maze the harder it was to get to the seat where you could rest in the middle of the maze. But once in, there was only one way out and it’s easy to get trapped.

If you are high up, however, you can look down on the jungle or the maze, and see at a glance which is the right way to go to get out of the mess you’re in. And if you’re on the ground and have a mobile phone, the person who is high up, looking down on you, can easily direct your steps, so that you know exactly which direction to go at any moment of time.

Long before man invented the mobile phone God showed man how He could speak directly into the hearts of His children. He didn’t need a phone, but we did need to have our ears of the spirit open to listen in to the communication channel we call prayer. He is high and lifted up (Isaiah 6:1) and from His vantage point He can see everything that’s happening. No matter how thick the jungles of life may be or how complicated the maze seems to be, we don’t need to be lost.

Jesus expressed this wonderful truth so simply, but powerfully when He said to Thomas “I am the way!” It’s not a pathway we need to follow – it’s a Person – a Person who can see the way ahead and who longs to speak to His children and give them the benefit of His wisdom and direction. He has promised that He will show us His way for our lives. One of the songs we used to sing at our Church Youth Group was:
‘My Lord, knows the way through the wilderness,
All I have to do is follow!”

The words may be simple, but they are incredibly profound. Following Him requires us to humble ourselves, submit to His authority in our lives and walk in obedience – and we will find then our way out of the jungles or the mazes of life.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that you have promised to show me the way. Help me to have my ears always open to listen to your voice so that I can know where to put my feet on my journey through life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.