HORIZONS

Seeing tomorrow could definitely be a mixed blessing. If you knew in advanced about some major change in your life it would be great on one hand, but could create problems on the other. For example, if you knew a problem was coming, but couldn't change the reality, would that really help?

I realize that such questions are difficult, if not impossible to answer. It is one of those things where one just couldn't answer the question till the situation took place.

So why even discuss it? For the purposes of this posting I guess it is backdrop to more relevant issues. Mainly paying attention to what one can know about the future and the horizon we are facing in our walk of faith.

Some things are more obvious than others. For if we follow a path that is difficult and full of obstacles is it likely the future will be that much different? It can be if we see change coming. But if nothing is going to change, why would we expect the path to suddenly get easier?

There are those who do. They have some day dream view of reality that somehow something magically will cure to change what is into what we want.

But God does what us to truly see clearly. Maybe not the entire distant ahead, but enough to appreciate the kind of pace one needs to keep on the path.

That is the challenge of faith. One can't always walk by site. If the Holy Spirit has given you a map for the soul to follow, you have to keep in the direction given.

And that can be a real challenge if you run into too many "experts" who want to convince you that only misery lies ahead. Oh they will have their horror stories to prove why they gave him trying and turned around, but they will never help you on the journey.

Perhaps the saddest element is when you have those who never want to follow the path and won't respect your right to. They will do everything they can to discourage.

And if they have no spiritual road map of their own, or use the scriptures with bad interpretations, they will not be all that helpful. They will just keep criticizing without it being the least bit profitable.

What really suck is how often we let ourselves be sucked into listening too. Part of the weakness of human nature.

We just love approval, even if it comes as a toxic form. Still, we keep going back for more. Even when the Lord's spirit shows us how such help is harmful, we just struggle at times with getting out of the habit of needing those words from somebody else.

It can be a hard habit to break. We can only depend upon the Lord for help.