There we are, walking with Jesus along the path on this Road Trip. He gave us the choice of route and we chose the narrow road, the one less walked by others. He’s talking all along the trip, and we’re enjoying the summer with Him. Some days are better than others in this walk. But we keep going, always putting one foot in front of the other. We’re trusting The Spirit to give guidance and warning when somebody decides to wander off. We’ve learned to stay with Jesus, ooh, we don’t want to wander off again for sure!

As the road bends, there’s another sign. DIP. Hmm…dip? Okay, that means the road will go down and then back up. Dip.

On your walk with Jesus this summer, have you had days where you found yourself in the pits? Is this summer road trip not showing itself to be the one that you envisioned? Are you tired of walking with Jesus?

Let’s stop here and talk to Jesus about the DIP.

A dip in the road – a sudden low place; a decline followed by an incline; a slant down followed by a slant up. DIP. What does a dip teach us about Jesus and our abundant life?

Dips are going to happen anyway. That’s the way life is, that’s the way the road goes. The question to ask yourself is: what is your response going to be when you face a dip? It’s a fact that when you go down in a dip, you will again go back up.  Where will you go up after you’ve been down? 

Shall you go back to the place you once were, before Jesus freed you from the cell where you sat? Remember when you left? You said, “Never again will I go back there.” Free at last…and intending to focus on Christ! He invited you on this road trip to enjoy Him, to learn and experience abundant life. Here and now. So after the down, which side of the down will you go up?

The world offers lots of different ways to go up out of the dip. Distractions abound, and there are band-aids to help you. Some of the dressings look like cures. There’s worldly gauze, bandages, ointments, steri-strips, and tape. In fact, some act like cures. For awhile, that is. The problem with these items is that each one tends to the top places of the hurt and even when an ointment sinks inside your wound, it only can go so far down in there. To be fully healed, God wants to do surgery on this low place, so that it will be totally healed, inside and out. Some surgeries are easy and quick, some are hard and long.

In any event, your Creator knows perfectly how to tend to you. He tends lovingly to all those who are His. And He does all of this while you walk with Him. Jesus walks with you into the DIP and will walk with you out of it if you trust Him and follow His instructions.

After you allow Him access to do surgery on your hurt, you will have a scar. This is left to remind you of God’s healing power, and also for you to show to others who need Him. For God will allow you to spread the word of His healing to those who walk into the same dip. He chooses to work this way, allowing you to work alongside, so that He can be the Surgeon in the lives of others who need Him.

What is your dip today? Are you going through sickness, depression, grief, fear, or worry? Be still before God and allow Him to speak to your hurt. Make sure that you go to Him Alone. Only the power of God can guide you up the proper side of the dip. Allow Him total surgical access. 

There, on the other side, you will find Godly wisdom, and smack dab in the middle of that, you will find joy wrapped up in all of God’s love that you can stand!

Praise the healing Name of Jesus!

Scripture to ponder:   Daniel 4

Today’s weapon:  “At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified Him who lives forever.” Daniel 4:34

Walking on a Road Trip with Jesus is always interesting. A person can never say that doing anything with Our Lord is boring! There’s always something up, but you have to pay attention to see it. We miss so many things that Jesus does, I do believe, because we are not paying attention to the movement of The Spirit of God.

How are you doing walking with Jesus so far? Are you doing your best to be with Him at the start of each day? Are you settling for second best and going back to your old way of doing things and your old way of thinking?

God’s mercies are new every morning, (Lamentations 3:22-23) so every day that you wake up is a fresh page in your notebook. Remember to allow God to write a new entry for you. Your new page is clean, white, and ready to receive a word from The Father. Are you allowing God the opportunity to write a fresh word in your heart each day? Please do not shortchange yourself here. The abundant life requires your co-operation. God abides by His own rules (which always amazes me) and He has created you with a will. You must do your part – He is not your “Genie.”

Are you open to receive this word from God today? Read at your own risk…He has something to say to all of us on the journey. Please God, open the eyes and ears of our hearts…♥

So then, today we’re walking in a beautiful land. Picture it if you will, it’s green, lush and full of life. This morning I saw that a bird has made a nest in one of my ferns on the front porch. Life! Singing, singing, singing…mom sang to dad and dad sang to mom and it was just beautiful to hear. Pay attention as we walk along, because God is showing us life – the abundant kind that we get to live here and now. 

And what is this that is now before us? An intersection. Hmm. Interesting.

One of my favorite poems is “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. The first three stanzas are as follows:

 

 

We can go either way here. Looking at one path I notice that it’s wide and trampled flat. The other one is kind of grown over and is more narrow. The thing is, what we hear in scripture from Jesus Himself, the path that has “the better claim” is really not worn the same as the path with undergrowth, even though it looks that way. The path with undergrowth can’t be the same (which we learn in the last stanza) because it is less traveled upon.

What an interesting place! Which way shall you go? Jesus says that you get to decide the route. He is in charge of the itinerary, and today He says that the route we take to our destination is up to you. 

Which route is best? Choose your route well! The route you take really matters to the joy that you will get out of the journey. If you are unsure which road to take, ask God, Who is ready to give you the wisdom from on high. When you take the road He points out, your soul will be at peace. I can’t explain it in words, but you’ll know it when The Spirit bestows it upon you.

Please understand ahead of time that the proper road is not always easy, but the reward will far outweigh anything you may bear. Far. Outweigh. Anything. God is prepared and willing to amaze you, and to do so on a daily basis. Can you believe this? Do you dare to take the narrow road?

Today’s Weapon:  “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24