The Guidance

Ron Rose has something in common with a number of my Facebook friends- we've never met in person, at least I don't think we have. We do share 143 common friends so sometimes you can almost feel like you know someone in person.  I've become a daily reader of his morning posts about people he meets while drinking coffee. Like all good writers, Ron has the gift to be able to draw the reader into the story and in his case, the character who makes up his daily vignette. On Friday morning, his posting had to do with Jesus' words from John 16:13. Ron quoted from the NLT so I will as well:
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.

Man, I need that guidance! To believe there is wisdom and truth I can be led to perceive with more clarity by the Holy Spirit is such a comfort to me. When I rely on myself, I flounder. When I lean on the Spirit, my footing is sure. 

Two days ago, I drove to downtown Houston- no school due to Good Friday! I was on the hunt for gifts for my players to be given at our end of the season party. Twice, I took wrong turns. It wasn't my GARMIN'S fault- I just wasn't paying good attention. Five years ago, I would have become very upset at losing my way but not anymore. You see, I know my GPS will always guide me back to the right path, even when I mess up. The GARMIN can take my mistakes and still get me home. It might, and usually does, take longer but the end result is the same.

Several years ago, I wrote a blog about a wonderful girl who often swims when I do at my fitness center. (If interested, here it is: http://stevehawley.blogspot.com/2016/03/swimmers-and-sting-and-scott-and.html)  She is a terrific athlete and her mother coaches her, sometimes from an adjacent lane. I happened to see them today at the pool and mentioned I was writing a sequel to her story; mom and daughter beamed! This is what I had been meaning to write: As the young lady swims her workout, her mother is always talking into a small machine as she walks by her lane on the concrete deck. I thought it was something like a dicta-phone where they can review the comments when they leave the pool. But recently when our paths crossed poolside, she told me what it really is. She holds a microphone and talks to her daughter, who wears an earpiece, while she's swimming. My guess is she is helping her child constantly make adjustments while she sprints through her laps. You know, you can't see yourself swim but someone above and out of the water can and suggest the corrections which make your journey easier and your times improve. My swimming buddy, who is now twelve, has continued to get faster so Mom must be a wonderful coach! I already know she's a great mother!

Here's where I have a confession to make, and it's just coincidental that today is Easter Sunday; I really don't comprehend the influence of the Holy Spirit in my life. I know the Scriptures and all the references but the moving of the Comforter through my existence remains mysterious to me. I can give examples, like the voice on my GPS or the swimming prodigy being led by her mom, but that's about the extent of my childlike grasp. Faith leads me to unwavering belief that he is with me and walking with me but I can't explain that faith to a non-believer. Believers, maybe! And when I look back at the verse Ron shared, I'm reminded that Jesus promised the Spirit would guide us into all truth, not all understanding. That I understand. But some day, I'll know. And we'll know. We just don't know when.


Applicable quote of the day:
The Spirit-filled life is not a special, deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people
A.W. Tozer

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com