Walking In Another Direction!

One of my favorite movies is "Finding Nemo" this movie has several important elements in it, the one that I am focused on today is the message of being disobedient.

How many times have we heard our parents tell us, "don't do that, don't touch this, or you can't go there"? Nemo's(clown fish) father warned his son not to go swimming out in the ocean, because he thought that his son was not ready. Doing just what he was warned not to do, Nemo broke away from his father and started out in the ocean.

I remember when I was a teenager my mother told me not to drive my car to a neighboring state because the car was in need of some minor repairs. Needless to say I didn't listen and boy was that a big mistake! One mile from my destination the car stopped on a dark country road with the nearest street light at the local gas station six miles down the road. I was terrified, there I was with two of my friends on the side of the road, and at that time we didn't have cell phones. What was I going to do? How was I going to get home? Was I going to die, once my mother found out what happened? If ever there was a time when bad thoughts entered my mind, it was then. Fortunately for me, a nice stranger helped us to get where we needed to go. Unfortunately for me, I messed the car up even worse than before.

The minute that Nemo decided to go swim against his father's wishes he was captured and taken away to a strange land. Frightened and terrified he was alone and for the first time, he was without his father. Society has given us the ability to choose anything we want, from a hamburger to a cheesburger, power windows or anti-lock brakes, good advice and bad advice. But, what if you chose the wrong direction because you didn't want to listen to the voice of your source.

Family and friends are a great asset to have but they can also be a detriment to our life, when we chose to listen to them rather than the voice of God. Often times we can chose ungodly counsel or make a hasty decision that will lead us off our directed path. Just as Nemo found himself on an unwanted path, we as creatures of habit have done some of the same things.

Luckily for us God has a forgiven heart and hand to receive us back to him. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Just as Nemo had to realize he had made a mistake, we too, have to come to our senses and change our course. John 10:27 says "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me." Trust the God in you and listen to what God is saying to you.

After several days of failed attempts to escape from his capturers Nemo was finally free and was reunited with his father. In the story of the prodigal son, the Father saw his son from afar off and at the right moment he opened his arms and welcomed his son back. (Luke 15:11-32) I can't help but to think what that moment was like for the Father who had been missing his son, I am sure he had been praying and praying for his son's safe return. While he was praying for his son, God was protecting him from all harm. Wait how did the son feel? In a sense he probably felt like we did when we connected to God for the first time or re-connected to him after leaving his will to follow our will. It was a sense of humility and relief from the pressure of being something that God didn't intend for us to be.

We should be very glad that God is taking care of us even when we are not thinking about it. Jeremiah 29:11 NLT says "For I know the plans that I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

Furthermore, it is stated that "For God, so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16

There are some simple steps that can lead us off the path, but one step can lead us back to Christ. That step is a repentant heart. If you have strayed from God's path, he is waiting for you to turn around, his arms are open to receive you. " I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:9-10.

Yesterday may have been a day of bad choices, but today is the first day of your abundant life...Ask God for his direction and walk into your full God given ability. There is GREATNESS IN YOU!!!!