Crossroads

Jeremiah 6:16  “This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’”

(Photo Credit:  Robert Bye)

Ever found yourself at a crossroads?  I’m betting if you are honest with yourself, you’ll admit that you’ve been at a few in your lifetime. Some may have been smaller, like on a country road, and some may have been on a major intersection. I’m finding myself sitting at one this very moment…

At this crossroads, I find that I’m stuck in a whirlwind of emotions. I’m overwhelmed when I focus on the world zooming right by me. The cars are racing to and fro and not even noticing that I’m right here, unable to move. Does anyone truly SEE me?  Then there are the cars behind me honking incessantly because I just can’t muster enough strength to press the gas and go anywhere. Does anyone truly CARE that I can’t find my way?  Sometimes, it’s like an out of body experience where I’m watching the scene unfold, and I just want to shout to myself to let go of the brake….just MOVE. Why can’t I move?

You know why?  Because sometimes God calls us to wait. He wants me to sit for awhile at this crossroads and take the time to discern His path forward. He’s patiently waiting on me…not to move forward but to look UP to Him.

Luke 24:49  “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”  Jesus is telling his disciples to STAY where they are and WAIT on the Holy Spirit to come on them. I believe that He is asking the same of me.  While I already have the Holy Spirit living within me, I need to wait on the Spirit to pave my pathway forward.

(Photo credit:  Oliver Cole)

Do you know what happens when I look up?  I take myself beyond the crossroads. I become unstuck but yet can be still. I don’t have to move forward just yet. In my current crossroads, God has taught me that waiting is part of His divine plan in my life. Patience is a gift I am struggling to receive…and let me tell you, the struggle is REAL. It is in the waiting I have better understood my journey to the crossroads. It is in the waiting I have wrestled with my faith. It is in the waiting I have dug deeper into my relationship with Him. 

Don’t get me wrong, the waiting period has left me devastated, lonely, anxious, sad. And yet God has used this time to draw me closer to Him. I’m know in my heart this burning desire for Him is because I have walked this journey leading to this exact crossroads. It is through my current journey that my trust in God has grown exponentially and for this I am SO grateful. And yet I still worry about what tomorrow brings. I struggle with wanting to just DO something to make it all better. And God continually reminds me to be still.  I’ve got this, Ashley. You are enough IN Me. In Me you will find complete rest for your soul.

(Photo Credit:  Alora Griffiths)

As I sit in my car at this crossroads, I’m going to challenge myself not to wait in self-pity but acknowledge all of the great things God is doing in my life. I’m going to look OUT to seek others who may be at their own crossroads. I’m going to invest in relationships with others. And most of all, I’m going to trust that God will give me the green light arrow to point me in the right direction on the road to life….in His timing. 

In Him,  

Ashley 

“This is the day the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

~Psalm 118:24