On Track with Jesus

When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was terrified, and so he asked the Lord what to do. But the Lord did not answer him at all, either by dreams or by the use of Urim and Thummim or by prophets. Then Saul ordered his officials, ‘Find me a woman who is a medium, and I will go and consult her.’    (verses 5- 7a)

Read 1 Samuel 28:3-20

I was off to a nearby city twenty minutes away. About ten minutes into my drive I came upon two police cars parked across the road. Police officers pointed to a detour. No signs showed where to go or how to get back on track. Other cars were driving on, so I followed. The farm track cris-crossed other farm tracks and led to an unsigned fork in the road. Which way to go? Several cars had stopped. My inclination was to go left, but two drivers, whom I guessed to be locals, wheeled confidently to the right. I followed. Soon we were back on the highway, heading confidently towards my destination.

In life it is easy to get ‘off track’, to become lost in unmarked territory. Fear in difficult situations can entice us to make up our own signs, our own wrong ways to achieve an end. Saul did that. Even though he had banned occultism, he himself secretly consulted a medium. He wandered from the highway of the Lord.

I cannot hasten the journey by taking short cuts or winding detours. I cannot improve the journey through my own road map. Travelling your way I’m in for the trip of my life. I thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen.

by Eunice Freiberg in ‘Renewed Hope for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2000)

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