Following Jesus

About ten or so weeks ago, we visited a church close to our home. We weren't there because we were looking for a new church. We were there because I had accidentally overslept that Sunday (blame it on my faulty alarm clock!). At breakfast I lamented the fact that the whole family would be missing church due to my snoozing, so we decided to visit a nearby church that our friends had just started attending.

The next Sunday, another situation came up and we ended up visiting this church again. It happened again the next Sunday. And the next.

After four or five weeks of visiting, Alan and I started wondering--"Is the Lord leading us to this church?"

My first thought was, "NOOOOOO.....we can't leave our beloved church of 15 years!" We've been there since we were newlyweds. Alan got baptized there. We were involved in ministry. We studied at incredible Bible studies. We had made lasting friends. We prayed and saw loved ones come to Christ.

But this new church was also very appealing. We liked the Pastor and the Bible teaching was rock solid. The kids looked forward to their Sunday School classes. A friend of mine leads the homeschool support group and invited me to get involved. Because this church is much closer to our home than the other church, we'd be able to get more involved in ministry.

Maybe we were getting stagnant, not wanting to embrace change. Maybe we'd gotten a little too comfortable. Maybe it was time to shake things up. Or shake us up.

Was God leading us in a new direction? Over the years, we've learned that open doors don't necessarily signify the will of God. I wondered, "Why would He lead us to a new church when we love our old one?" Yet we trusted that the Lord would confirm His direction. So we prayed and waited for an answer while we went back and forth between the two churches.

Ironically, the answer came during one of the Sunday messages from the new Pastor. We were told of a youth pastor who took a group of students on a little exercise to demonstrate the meaning of faith. He blindfolded them, lined them up, had them hold hands and led them on a walk. Someone was designated to record all the comments the students made while they were walking around blindfolded. Every time someone made a comment or asked a question, the pastor's reply was the same: "Follow me."

"Where are we going?"
"Follow me."
"What's the point?"
"Follow me."
"I'm tired."
"Follow me."
"This is stupid."
"Follow me."
"We're going in circles."
"Follow me."
"The other kids are laughing."
"Follow me."

After sharing this story with us the Pastor explained, "A saint doesn't need to know where they're headed, just who their Head is."

It was clear. Jesus was saying to us, "Follow Me." To which the only appropriate response was, "Yes, Lord."

Even after all these years we've been Christians, we are still learning to follow Jesus. We don't have to understand the whys (though I still ask). After all, His ways are not our ways. We need to simply trust that He is not only the Author but also the Finisher of our faith.

Though we are sad to say goodbye to our old church, we are excited about the new chapter in our lives. God is good! :-)

"...for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." Philippians 2:13