Lost

I’m probably going to date myself but does anyone remember back to before we didn’t have a GPS in our car? Back when we had to use a map to figure out where we are? These days we’re spoiled. All we have to do is bring up Google Maps on our phones to know exactly how to get where we’re going. It shows you where you are and guides you to your destination. Wouldn’t it be nice if life had something similar? Back before a GPS, you could always use a compass to find “True North” help guide you and show you the direction you were headed in.

Often in life, we set our “True North” without realizing it. Sometimes it’s another person or maybe a job or career. It could be any number of things that we use to help us find direction and show us where we’re going. We use it as our guide to figure out how we’re doing on our journey through life. What happens, when we lose that “True North”? When the person we’ve been using to set our direction decides they no longer want to be with us? Or how about when that job decides to downsize us?  What often happens is we lose our way and we find ourselves lost. We wonder how we’ll continue on. How will we know where we are. We find ourselves going in circles trying to find a new direction for our lives and it can be disorienting and scary.

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Proverbs 3:5-6 which says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. ” This is great advice for those who are strong in the faith, but honestly it’s pretty hard to trust in God when your whole world is falling apart. When everything you’ve known is gone and when you don’t know what to do next.

Too often in these situations, we run around looking for the path. It’s like in just about every horror movie when people are lost in the woods and they keep going and going only to realize they’re back when they started. So what should we do? Be still. The first part of Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God…”. Be still. Quit running in circles. Quit looking for a new “True North”. Be still. Trust in God. Pray. This, of course, is easier said than done.

When you’re in a situation where you’re lost you want resolution. You want something to happen. You’re scared. Maybe even alone. God might even be silent in your situation. Being still is the best solution because you’re not going to get anywhere otherwise. Wait on God. He likes to make us wait. Waiting often prepares us for something greater, it teaches us patience and perseverance. It’s still difficult. It still sucks. You feel like you’re going nowhere.

If you’ve recently lost your way be still. Be patient. Wait on God. Keep praying, keep seeking Him. In time you’ll find your way and it will be to something even greater.

Prodigal

Today I was asked about where the title for this blog, The Prodigal Pastor,  comes from. I explained that I started this blog shortly after I left my former denomination. The reason for the title was because I was no longer a part of the church and had lost a lot of “friends” in the process. While I didn’t go any further, to be honest I think a part of the title also came from the fact that at that time I felt very lost and very much alone. I was apart from God’s will for my life and had wandered from the path that God had planned for me…or at least the path I thought He had planned for me.

In hindsight I now wonder if the path’s we take, even those that lead us away from God, are still God’s will for us. I know from my personal experience that the path I chose really helped me put a lot of things in perspective and I believe I’m a better man today because of it. Maybe it’s actually not a matter of the paths that lead us away from God being God’s will as much as God using the paths we sometimes choose to take.

One of my favorite verses from the Bible is found in Proverbs 3:5-6 which says: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

The problem for me came when I decided to take my own path. I allowed people to lead me from where I knew God would have me to go, and instead I followed a path that God did not have laid out for me. However, I knew that something was missing and I felt lost because I was no longer following the path God had set out for me.

Now that I’m back on the path God has laid out for me, I realize how He will be able to use my past experience to make me better in ministry. However, knowing now that I am back on the path God has for me, the title of this blog really no longer fits. I’m no longer a prodigal and I have found my way back home.

Actually the second part of the title no longer works either. I have mentioned before that I feel called to be where I am, working with children and youth, and that at this point in my life I no longer feel led to be a pastor. So I guess at one time I was a “Prodigal Pastor”, but now now I’m simply a lost son who finally found his way back home.

Plan “B”

One of my favorite shows growing up was “The A Team”. There was nothing better than watching Hannibal, Face, B.A. and Merdock square off against the bad guys in the name of justice (even if they couldn’t hit anything they shot at). Of course who can forget at some point in the episode when everything worked out just as they wanted Hannibal would always say, with his trademark cigar in his mouth, “I love it when a plan comes together.”

Truth be told, rarely do plans come together as well as theirs. One of the lessons I’ve learned in my life is that things don’t always work out as we expect them to. We may think we have things all figured out, but somewhere along the way things go awry. At the time it’s frustrating and easy to feel defeated but I’ve also learned that the reason these plans don’t work out is because there’s something better for us down the road.

I currently find myself at a crossroads. A lot of things have finally started to fall into place, but there’s still a few things that are up in the air for me. What I find most frustrating is that I’m not sure which direction I should choose to go if a choice is afforded me.

In the midst of it all I keep coming back to Proverbs 3:5-6 which says: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

There comes a point in time when all we can do is trust this to be true and patiently wait for things to become clear and they often do. It may not be the plan we had in mind, but God always has a “Plan B” in store.

As of late I have seen things fall in place for me on a personal level. I’m happier than I’ve been in a long while and I’m still amazed in looking back at how it all happened for us. All I can do now is to hope this will be true of the rest of my…well, our lives as well.

Belonging

Have you ever felt like you didn’t really have a place where you belong?

I remember the summers when I would come home from college and how I felt like I didn’t really belong there. I mean it was home, it was familiaran but somehow everything had changed. Maybe it’s because I’d grown up and moved on while everything there seemed to be exactly as it was before I left.

I’m feeling a lot like this at the moment. That I don’t really have a place. It often feels to me like I’m living someone else’s life. Nothing seems familiar to me and when I look around it only seems worse. I see other people getting on with their lives, taking vacations and succeeding in their careers, while I seem to be stagnant and not going anywhere.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” I know that my situation is the result of the choices I have made. There are times I’m extremely happy but there are also times when I’m not. Much of my frustration I think comes from knowing that there’s something more for me. I’m working on finding my place and my new path, but I know this will all take time. All I can do for now is listen, learn and trust that God will lead me to where I’m supposed to be.