Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Sometimes God keeps you from falling off cliffs. That's a big start, a bold statement right at the gate. Today's Verse of the Day I want to pair with a story from my life, and hopefully you connect with it too. It comes from Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse 6. "'So obey the commands of the LORD your God by walking in His ways and fearing Him.'"
A Family Trip to the Ozarks
I'm going to tell you a story. Imagine an eight-year-old version of Landon. We're going on family vacation, and we love to take scenic routes through the Ozarks. I don't know if you've lived close to the Ozark Mountains or not, but it's a beautiful landscape, especially during the fall. The trees are changing. The air is brisk. It's beautiful.
My family is going on vacation, and my grandparents are with us. We packed the minivan up as tight as we could, and we start the road trip to the Ozarks. We take the scenic route out and around and up this really tall hill, and we park, and my dad tells us all to get out so we can see the view.
An Opportunity on the Other Side
It's beautiful. There's a fence that keeps us from the edge of a cliff. It's one of those nice, janky-looking chain-link fences that have the big holes underneath, because people have tried prying their way through it in the past. I'm eight years old, and when I see a hole like that, I see an opportunity. I'm thinking, the family has a great view, but I could get a better one if I just get through that little hole and stand on the other side of the fence.
My dad says, "Hey guys, stay away from the hole. Stay behind the fence. This is going to be where the best view is." When you have a one-track mind, you don't hear the instruction. You see the opportunity. At least I did. I start walking toward the hole, and I get down on all fours, and I start crawling my way through.
A Tug on the Belt Loop
What I didn't realize was that on the other side of that hole was the ledge. There was no space between the fence and the ledge. It was a drop-off. I'm beginning to crawl my way through, and halfway I hear my dad yell, and I feel a tug by my belt loop. My dad grabs my pants and pulls me back through the hole, and he tells me to go sit in the van.
Now I get it from this perspective. My dad almost had his son fall off a ledge, but I'm grateful for that belt loop 20-something years later. I'm here because my dad grabbed me and pulled me from where I didn't need to be.
God Knows What's on the Other Side
So often God gives us commands because He cares for us and He loves us. He knows what's on the other side of the fence. He knows that if you were to crawl through what you think is an opportunity, you might fall and get hurt more than He ever intended for you to.
When you're in a moment and you're asking yourself, God, why are You telling me to do this? think back to this story. There might be something you don't see that He does, that He's trying to keep you safe from. God doesn't just throw rules around because He's maniacal and a dictator and He just wants to keep you from having fun. He loves you.
Today, if you're in a position where you feel God asking you to do something that you don't necessarily want to do, take a step back and ask Him if there's more to the story. If He doesn't show you, take Him at His word and believe that when you walk with Him, and you obey His commands, and you fear Him (you respect Him, you know His perspective is greater than yours), He'll keep you safe.
