I get lost a lot.
It’s a gift. Whenever I take off on a new bike route, I’m nearly certain that at some point I’ll stare at a turn and think, “This isn’t where I’m supposed to be.”
Doesn’t seem to matter how carefully I pre-plan my ride. I always manage a wrong turn somewhere along the way.
I’m thinking about my propensity for mis-managing directions as I create a new computer-generated route for this summer’s FREEDOM TOUR, because a similar process occurs. I create the route step-by-step, but no matter how carefully I proceed I always make an error somewhere along the way.
Once I realize the little red line is off course, there’s only one way to fix the problem. I have to backtrack to the wrong turn and move forward from there. It’s the only way to end up with the correct path.
On the road, there are times when backtracking simply isn’t possible or practical. Sometimes you just have to make the best of where you are, so you pull out the map or the GPS and find the best way forward.
Other times, there’s no way to get there from here and going forward only compounds the problem. Often the best way forward is backward, back to the wrong turn and a chance to start over.
Jesus always offers that opportunity. When we realize, “This isn’t where I’m supposed to be,” we can turn around and go back to the wrong turn. There’s always a chance to start over.
Doesn’t erase the consequences of getting lost–cranking on dangerous roads, lost time, fear & anxiety, maybe you or someone else got injured. That’s all real and we have to deal with it. But we’re no longer piling new problems on top of old ones. We can stop being lost.
Jesus offers a fresh start.
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Someone said a while back that two words always stand out on the Freedom Tour jerseys: FREEDOM and HOPE. That’s not an accident.
FREEDOM to start fresh. Hope for a new life based on God’s promises.
Even when you’re lost.