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Good News - Broward Edition
34
March 2013
Good News
Cory Nickols
Commentary
Have you ever been too
afraid to step out and accomplish
a goal, a dream or something you
knew you were meant to do,
because you were scared of failure
or making a mistake? I am sure
most of us have, at some point,
experienced a lack of courage to
take that initial step, though deep
down inside, we knew we were
supposed to do it!
Just recently, I had a chance
to watch a movie documentary
called the
March of the Penguins
.
It was a film about Emperor
penguins’ daily survival to raise
their young in the harshest
environment
on
earth
–
Antarctica. When the penguins
are ready to mate, they travel
inland about 70 miles so that they
are protected from predators that
are seeking to kill them or their
young. Large groups of penguins
gather just before they embark on
their journey toward the same
breeding ground they go to every
year. In one unified effort, they all
set out on the long expedition in
a single file line. The penguins
never take the same path twice,
but still always end up at the exact
same destination.
Antarctica is one big sheet of
ice that cracks, melts, separates
and refreezes; creating road
blocks and dead-ends on paths
that were once passable. The
penguins, when faced with these
challenging problems, are not
bothered or troubled. They
briefly stop to assess the situation
and then find some other way
toward their familiar breeding
ground.
It is like they have a built in
GPS system that helps them get to
where they need to be, despite the
turns and forks in the road. If one
path is blocked, their internal
GPS reroutes them toward their
target and they are off once again!
The Christian life is much
like that. God comes to live and
dwell inside each of his children,
assisting us with every situation,
difficulty and trial. And he eagerly
desires to help lead us toward the
good plan and purpose he has
marked out for us! The Bible says,
“And I will ask the Father, and he
will give you another Comforter
(Counselor, Helper, Intercessor,
Advocate, Strengthener, and
Standby), that he may remain
with you forever— The Spirit of
Truth, Whom the world cannot
receive (welcome, take to its
heart), because it does not see
him or know and recognize him.
But you know and recognize him,
for he lives with you [constantly]
and will be in you” (John 14:16-17
AMP). The Holy Spirit will give
us wise counsel to make right
choices. He will give us the
strength to endure various
hardships and will get us back on
track even if we take a wrong
turn.
The Apostle Paul, while on
one of his missionary journeys,
tried to go to two different
regions, but the Holy Spirit
stopped him. The Bible explains:
“Next Paul and Silas traveled
through the area of Phrygia and
Galatia, because the Holy Spirit
had prevented them from
preaching the word in the
province of Asia at that time.
Then coming to the borders of
Mysia, they headed north for the
province of Bithynia, but again
the Spirit of Jesus did not allow
them to go there. So instead, they
went on through Mysia to the
seaport of Troas. That night Paul
had a vision: A man from
Macedonia in northern Greece
was standing there, pleading with
him, “Come over to Macedonia
and help us!” So we decided to
leave for Macedonia at once,
having concluded that God was
calling us to preach the Good
News there” (Acts 16:6-10). Not
only did the Holy Spirit reveal to
the Apostle Paul and Silas that the
direction they were heading was
wrong, but he showed them the
right place for them to go –
Macedonia!
That’s how God works. He
wants us to step in a direction that
we believe he wants us to go, but
be open and willing to change our
course if he prompts us to do
something different. When we
live our lives in close fellowship
with God, he speaks to us through
his Word, His still small voice,
other people and through
circumstances. He will help us
discern what is of him and what
isn’t. And if we do find ourselves
getting off track, he will help us
get back to where we need to be.
He is like a supernatural GPS: no
matter what direction we turn, he
will navigate us toward our final
destination. Simply put, he works
all things together for our good!
The next time you face a
difficult decision or challenging
circumstance, remember that
God is with you and will help
strengthen you for the trial at
hand, give you supernatural
wisdom to make the right
decision and will reroute you if
you get lost. So just relax and trust
God that he is working
everything out for you! The
penguins didn’t get all upset when
they faced a dead-end, and you do
not have to either. God will get
you to the right destination if you
will lean on and trust him.
>
STRONG FAITH
You Will Get To Your Destination