Good morning! There have been many stupid things that I have done in my life! Sometimes I chose to do things to make people laugh, other times I did stuff because people didn’t think I would, and yet others I was just being a dufus LOL!
There was one time that I was being dropped off at my house and instead of going through the gate, I jumped over the fence and ended up breaking my ankle!
Now to give you an idea of what happened, you need to understand the landscape of the front yard. There was a chain link fence that went around our whole yard and there was a double gate at the driveway. We mostly parked the vehicles on the street and would always have to go in through the gate without letting the dogs out.
When the dogs were out, they would run back and forth as every car, person, or animal passed by the house. When they weren’t chasing anything, they were either digging in the yard or barking at something moving through the trees.
So as I hopped over the fence, I landed in one of the holes that were left by the dogs and my ankle was broken. How silly, if I would have only used the gate it could have saved me a lot of pain and months in a cast – not to mention the annoyance of having to take a shower without getting the cast wet! How did I take a shower with a cast on my foot and NOT get it wet – that’s ridiculous!
The same thing is true in life! We end up making stupid decisions when the safest choice is right in front of us! We do things because we want to make people laugh, or to prove a point that we can do what others tell us we can’t, or were just plain old dumb at times – or is it just me?
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.”
John 10:9
Jesus lets us know that He is the only way to eternal life with God, but we try to get in by other means. We try to jump the fence instead of going through the Gate! Let’s face it, going against the flow is not always easy – meaning when everyone around you is doing one thing, it can be difficult to do the opposite.
Just think for a moment about my worst nightmare – being in the middle of a crowd of people! Those pictures on television where people are crammed in at Times Square in New York City to see the ball drop on New Year’s Eve is frightening LOL! Those people are squished so tightly together that I’m surprised they can even lift their arms in celebration.
Imagine trying to walk through that crowd? Most of the time in situations like that, you don’t even have a choice of where you are going; if you try going in a different direction, chances are you would get thrown down and trampled on.
It takes courage and strength to follow Jesus, but thankfully we have access to unlimited resources through our relationship with Him! When I’m with my family or in a group and we are trying to make our way through the crowd, I normally try to take the lead and make a way through the dense mass of people. As long as we stay close together, the people behind me have a path to follow, but if they fall back, the massive crowd swallows up the space in between leaving them stranded.
Jesus is the One who leads us through the crowd of people around us! As long as we stay close to Him, we will follow the path that He has created. If we drop back, we will be swept away by the people around us!
“The Lord will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life;”
Psalm 121:7
When we follow close after Jesus, He will protect us from self-inflicted troubles. He has carved out the path to salvation and if we try to go any other way, there will be danger. Stay right behind Him and follow His lead through the crowd!
Heavenly Father, thank You for providing the path to salvation! It can be so difficult trying to make our way through the crowd, but thankfully all we have to do is follow Your lead. Help us to not be distracted by the people around us but to continue to enter through the Gate that leads to life! In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 