Have you ever been hiking and found yourself lost? Maybe you intentionally veered off the path, hoping to explore the deepest parts of the forest, and since you’ve been on this path many times before you are certain you can find your way back out. Or it could be you thought you were following the intended path, only to realize you somehow got off that path and now you find yourself far from where you want to be. You are in very unfamiliar territory.

In either situation, being lost, all alone, and off the marked path leads to worry, confusion and panic, maybe even hopelessness. Foolishly, you left your compass in the car. What’s that noise rustling in the leaves? Is that a bear I hear off in the distance? Oh no, this deep in the woods, no cell service! You begin trying to retrace your steps but soon convince yourself that you’ve passed the same rock twice. You seem to be getting nowhere fast and begin to wonder if you will get out safely. As an experienced hiker you know it is ill-advised to hike alone and without your trusty compass, but since you’ve hiked these woods hundreds of times had confidence in your own abilities.

In life we sometimes find ourselves lost and off the chosen path. I’ve been there and so have you. That is just the reality of our sinful nature. Simply put, we strayed from God. It could be we willingly chose a different path, our own path, or it could be we somehow drifted there, little by little, almost unnoticed, until we find ourselves someplace we don’t want to be.

The prophet Jeremiah gave instructions to the nation of Judah, who had strayed from the Lord to make their own way. These same instructions apply to you and to me today. Here is what we read in Jeremiah 6:16 – “Thus says the LORD: ‘Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.’”

So, right now, if you are lost or uncertain, rather than keep wandering, hoping to find daylight, stop right where you are, admit that you are lost. Repent (turn towards God), and trust Him, your good and trusty compass, to show you His way. It might not be the easiest way, but it will be the best way!

Have you ever walked down a street late at night? The sky is dark, there is a chill in the air, you can see your breath, the street lights are dimly lit, the businesses are all closed, and every sound seems to be magnified. Raindrops begin to fall from the sky. You’ve walked this street many a night, but for some reason tonight you sense that danger lurks at every corner. You feel uneasy as you make your way down the sidewalk, constantly glancing over your shoulder to make sure no one is following you. You hear sirens in the distance and that just increases your anxiety. Was that gunfire I heard? That person looking out from that second floor window, are they checking you out?

Suddenly, someone steps out from between two buildings. It startles you, stopping you dead in your tracks. They nonchalantly glance you before heading in the other direction. You let out a big sigh of relief and your pace picks up, almost to a sprint. Soon you make it to your apartment building and quickly go inside, locking the door behind you before collapsing on the couch in exhaustion. Your nerves are shot, your heart is beating way too fast.      

Life is often that same way. We find ourselves in situations that make us uneasy and uncomfortable. Sometimes the threat to us is real, while other times it is just perceived. Regardless of what you are going through, or imagining that you are going through, you can rest assured that God is with you. Sometimes He will help you escape harm’s way while other times He sustains you through whatever it is that threatens you, walking stride for stride alongside you.

In Psalm 138:7-8 we read these words – “When I am surrounded by troubles, you keep me safe. You oppose my angry enemies and save me by your power. You will do everything you have promised; Lord, your love is eternal. Complete the work that you have begun” (GNT).

In those two verses it sure seems clear that not only did the psalmist trust in God’s power and protection,but also has confidence in the plans and purposes of the Father, despite the worrisome and disquieting current conditions.

So, today, if the street you walk down is dimly lit and you find yourself uneasy about your surroundings, maybe even fearing the worst, allow yourself to be strengthened by the love and faithfulness of the One in whose image you were made (Gen 1:26-27) and who created you to be who you are (Ps 139:13-18).

Life is not always easy treading. Sure, there are days when the pavement is newly resurfaced and the journey is smooth. But there are also days when the road you find yourself on is not so smooth and it feels as if you are about to tumble into a deep dark hole. Abnormal markers in your routine blood work leads to further testing which leads to a diagnosis of cancer. Maybe you suddenly find yourself without a job. It could be that at the end of the month you have more bills to pay than you have money in your checkbook. You or a family member have been battling a serious illness for a long time and now you are told it is time to call hospice.

Or how about this, you have been praying about something God placed on your heart and finally build up the courage to step out of the boat in faith, only to find yourself beginning to sink. You thought that you were following God’s plan, but now your question whether you really did hear from God, or if you simply ate some bad pizza.

Where do you turn when the bottom drops out?

What is at the bottom of that black hole you find yourself falling in? Will it hurt? Fear has taken over and you are waiting for the crash landing. Rest assured that Jesus is there to catch you.

You might be familiar with the story of Peter walking on water. Matthew 14:22-36 tells the story of the disciples in the middle of the lake when their boat got caught in a storm. While it was still dark, they saw Jesus walking on the water and were terrified because they thought he was a ghost. Jesus tells them to not be afraid, but probably to little avail. Peter then calls out, saying, “Lord if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” You can imagine Peter’s shock when Jesus invites him to get out of the boat! We pick up the story here beginning in verse 29 – Then Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Jump ahead two verses and in verse 31 we read these comforting words – Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

So, when you are falling head over heels into what seems like a deep dark black hole, and fear has kicked in, know that Jesus is not far away, with His hand extended, saying to you, “I am right here!”  

Have you ever been so sure of something that you “bet your life on it,” only to soon thereafter find it not to be true? Has there ever been a time that you went from absolutely knowing something is true to only hoping it is so, even after being so sure? Do you struggle with doubts about Jesus amid difficult circumstances? Do you ever find yourself wondering if Jesus really is who He claims to be? If you said yes, you are not alone. We all do at one point or another.

John the Baptist, as he sat in prison awaiting execution, found himself doubting that very thing. John, the very one who told the crowd of the comng Messiah (Matthew 3:11), found himself questioning in that dark moment. John, the very one who after baptizing Jesus saw the heavens open and the Spirit of God descend and rest on Him, even after hearing a voice say, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17), found himself afflicted with doubt. John, the very one who said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), as he sat in Herod’s prison, questioned whether Jesus was really who He claimed to be.

When the heat is on, when life gets tough, real tough, we often find ourselves experiencing deep darkness. Accusing thoughts flood our minds. Here is what we read in Matthew 11 – “When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’” (v.2)

That seems like a surprising question from John, the very one who boldly announced that he was preparing the way of the One to come. John had been so sure that Jesus was the Christ, but now, sitting in that filthy prison, he seemed to be wondering, “What if I had been wrong?” Have you ever found yourself asking that same question?

Jesus, while sometimes seemingly frustrated with questions that tried to back Him in a corner, never once, not ever, failed to give a genuine answer to a sincere question. He always answers your questions as well. He is faithful and reliable. 

In v.4 we read how Jesus responded to that question, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me [shall not fall away in me, tripped up, doubt].”

[As a student of the what we today call the Old Testament, John would be very familiar with those words, they come straight from Isaiah 61.]

Yes, it is true that Jesus does not always answer when, or even how we desire, but He always answers. We are told in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that His grace is all we need; it is sufficient to overcome every obstacle, no matter how big, no matter how long, no matter how difficult.

In the midst of John’s doubt, in the midst of his pain, in the midst of his “dark night of the soul,” in the midst of his deep valley, Jesus sent a promise, a word of hope, a reminder that He is who is claims to be. Do you trust that He will do the same for you?

It is that time of year again; that time of year when many are focused solely on one thing. We have already turned our clocks ahead. The first day of spring is two days away. In some areas of the country daffodils are already blooming. The smell of food being cooked on grills is beginning to waft through the air. More and more people are getting vaccinated. Major League baseball teams are in Spring Training. But it is that time of year for something else as well.

Tonight, much of the country will be focused on one thing and one thing only. Yes, you guessed it – the start of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, affectionately known as March Madness. This year’s tournament will be different because of the pandemic – less fans in the seats, teams living in a “bubble,” and all games being played in the Indianapolis area – but still for many, especially after no tournament last year, the games can’t start soon enough.     

The brackets were announced on Sunday and since then sports talk programs have broken down the tournament with the so-called experts ad nauseam. Advertisers use March Madness themed ads to get us to buy their products and services, and the tournament even has its own jargon and terminology – The Big Dance, Cinderella, Selection Sunday, Bracketology, First Four, Bracket Buster, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four.

As a nation, we are obsessed with this tournament. Many people have poured every ounce of energy into researching the teams and trying to pick the winners and the upsets. Even people who do not regularly follow college basketball often fill out a bracket. Sadly, when it comes to our commitment to following Jesus, that pursuit sometimes pales in comparison to the energy and effort we put forth in trying to fill out our brackets. Pursuing Jesus is not a casual, go through the motions, kind of thing. The Bible makes it clear that pursuing Jesus is an all-in activity.

The Bible is full of references to earnestly seeking God. We find these words as the opening verse in Psalm 63, “You God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole body longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” In 1 Chronicles 16:11 we read these words, “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.” And later, in that same book we are told, “Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God” (22:19).  

Not only are we called to earnestly seek after God, Scripture also tells us that if we do so, we will find Him. The number of verses that give us that promise is lengthy, here are just two. Proverbs 8:17 tells us this, “I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.” And in Deuteronomy 4:29 we find these words, “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and all your soul.”

Jesus tells us that everything we need in life is given to us if we seek Him first. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says this, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” I encourage you to always read the verses I mention in context; this verse comes near the end of a longer passage (6:25-34).

So, are you pursuing God with the same single-minded focus and passion as you have when completing your bracket? If you seek after God with an all-in attitude, you will find Him. And that wins every time!  

During my childhood I was allergic to honeybees and yellow jackets. At age eleven I was playing in a neighbor’s yard when I stepped on a nest of yellow jackets that had built their colony in the ground. I was stung over fifty times and spent several days in the hospital. For the next twenty or so years I received regular allergy shots, actually called venom immunotherapy. Most kids outgrow bee allergies and I did as well. While I still try to avoid bees and bee stings, I do enjoy what those pesky honeybees produce… honey.

The production of honey is fascinating. The process begins when bees extract nectar from flowering plants. They then store this nectar in their extra stomach while transporting it back to the beehive. When the honeybee returns to the hive it passes the nectar to another bee by vomiting the liquid into that bee’s mouth, who then does the same to another bee, one closer to honeycomb. This process is continued until the partially digested nectar is deposited into the honeycomb.

However, this nectar is still a liquid, so in order to remove the excess water from this nectar, the bees fan it with their wings to speed up the evaporation process. Once most of the water is gone, the bees secrete another liquid from their abdomen, which hardens into beeswax, safely sealing the honey inside the honeycomb for the bees, providing them with a food source to be consumed during the cold months. That is, unless Winnie the Pooh, honey badgers, raccoons, or humans get it first.

Today we most often use sugar, or sugar substitutes, to sweeten our food and drink. But until the sixteenth century, when sugar became widely available, honey was the world’s primary sweetener. Since I have cancer, I try to avoid as much sugar as possible, and honey is a good substitute. It is sweeter than sugar. While sugar only sweetens, honey on the other hand both helps to sweeten food and drink and has several health benefits as well. Honey, however, is also very high in calories. Not only do we consume honey, we also oftentimes describe things good as “sweeter than honey.”   

Psalm 19 reflects in three separate motifs the beauty of God’s Works and His Word. It begins like this: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Verses 1-6 describe the glory and wisdom of God through His creation, verses 7-11 reveal God’s law, and the psalm ends with a three-verse prayer asking for forgiveness and acceptance. We find these powerful closing words: “May the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” 

In my opinion, the beauty and transforming power of God’s Word is described in this psalm better than any other place in Scripture. Here is what we find in vv.7-11: “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”

Did you get that – God’s Word is sweeter than honey. Are you taking time every day to ingest and digest His Word, allowing it to feed you, nourish you, and transform you?