A few months ago, Mercie was the first child awake at my daughter's house and was in the living room with her mother playing quietly. Megan heard Silas waking up in his room and went to get him out of bed and change his diaper. She said a few minutes later she walked back into the living room and there sat Mercie on the rug. She was surrounded by a puddle of water, had an empty bottle beside her and the lid in her hand. Megan stood there and looked at her and Mercie looked up and said in a sweet voice, "I don't know what happened."
Well, of course Mercie knew what had happened, but she did what we as Christians sometimes do. Deny the truth. The Lord spoke to me through this and reminded me of my own lame excuses that I sometimes offer up to God.
Do we find ourselves sitting in a puddle at times and say to God, "I don't know what happened."? Have we ever gotten into a mess of our own doing but looked up to our Lord and proclaimed that we didn't know how we got there?
Truth of the matter is we can sometimes slide down that slippery slope so fast that we may be surprised where we landed, but in reality we know just what happened. We know just how we wound up sitting in that puddle.
Sin happened. Disobedience happened.
Talkin' the talk and not walkin' the walk happened.
The road to destruction is broad.
"Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
It's easy to walk that wide road of complacency and sin. We just keep walking and following the crowd - busy in our own little worlds and then one day we look up and realize we aren't where we intended to go.
The narrow way - the one that leadeth unto life - is hard to find. It takes a far different path and we have to purposefully follow it. It may not be easy and it may not always be the road we desire to be on, but when we align ourselves with the Word of God and surrender to His will for our life, we don't walk alone.
God walks that path with us. He gently leads and guides us down paths of righteousness. He lifts us up and carries us over troubled waters. He makes a way for us in the valley and over the mountains. He is always there.
If we adhere to the Word of God and we are obedient to His commands, we are less likely to find ourselves sitting in a puddle unaware of how we got there.
Let's stay in step with our Lord and allow Him to show us the way. Keeping our focus on Him. Keeping our eyes on the path He is making for us. Watching out for the puddles that threaten to pull us in. If we keep holding His hand and walking by His side, our response to "I don't know what happened" will be replaced by "God happened".
"Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day" (Psalm 25:4-5)
