Walking Thru the Red

 

“For we walk by faith, not by sight:”  II Corinthians 5:7

We were traveling this weekend to visit some friends when we met with a traffic jam. A closer look at my Google Map app showed “red” road ahead of us. Ugh! Not the favorite site for a non-traveler like myself. 

We ended up being in traffic long enough to cause me some minor anxiety. Yes, it was much longer than ten minutes! We were in the red for over an hour. On the bright side however, we were rarely at a complete standstill. 

I thought about my app and how I might be interested in having an app for spiritual life-jams. You know, when life deals you a hazard and all comes to a standstill. 

How wonderful would it be, or not be, to be able to tell when the issue would be all-clear. I suppose if we knew “it” was about over, we’d be encouraged to hang on a little bit longer. However, what if we knew the status would be red for a long way? We might possibly consider the road too long, difficult, and not worth the struggle. So, I suppose an app of such might become a detriment in some situations. Right?

That’s why we’re taught to walk by faith - and not by how much “red” we do or don’t see in life. 

I don’t know about you, but I figure we all have some red in our days every day. I can think of many possibilities no matter what age or stage of life we may be in. The red is there! Financial crisis, job loss, health issues, homeschooling, troubled children, vehicle breakdowns, etc. Are you now thinking about some of your own red situations? 

I could tell you tomorrow it will be all better and all the other encouraging things we sometimes say to help ease someone’s troubled heart and mind. We mean we’ll, but the truth of the matter is we just need to be encouraged to keep walking. 

What would’ve happened if the children of Israel had had GPS when they were headed straight for the Red Sea? Would they even have gotten five miles away from Egypt without returning? 

There are all kinds of examples for us to consider both in Biblical times and today. 

I guess I wouldn’t want a spiritual GPS map app after all. There’s an old song that says, “One day at a time, sweet Jesus, is all I’m asking of you...” - just let me be content to walk by faith, knowing He will see me through. 

We were happy to finally be with our friends, and off the road - out of the red. I thought to myself, isn’t that what it’s all about? The final destination. It’s not about how much red is along our road, if my final destination means I’ll be seeing my Savior face to face. There’s another old song that says, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.” 

Be encouraged today, my friend, the red cannot last forever. One day soon we will arrive at our final destination and all will be well. Just keep walking through the red, one baby step at a time, and it will soon be worth it all. Have faith!