From Auto-Pilot to Adventure

Ever had a time where you felt you had really grown in the Christian faith. Perhaps it was a summer camp, or a book you read, a sermon you heard, or a quiet time you had. Perhaps, you delivered a message, taught a lesson, or developed some type of material and were convinced this was the key to a locked piece of the faith that you had finally received. Yet, a few days later, it was as though the lesson had been wiped from your memory. It could have been a test that came your way and you forgot all you had learned. Or maybe it was pride that came along and convinced you the glory from the lesson belonged to you alone and instead of achievement, emptiness was all you found. Perhaps, the busyness of life came along and kidnapped you, throwing you into a car moving at Nascar speed into worry and control.

Well, if you're anything like me, that can be the most discouraging time of your life. I mean, how did I say x, or teach y, or write about z yesterday, and today the lesson and the God who gave it be so far away? All the excitement of yesterday, all the joy, all the hope, now instantly replaced with discouragement, despondence, and spiraling towards depression. It was here I recently found myself. Sitting on the bank of discouragement, watching the waters of depression creep up the banks of the vast river below my feet seeking to sweep me away again. It was here, I began to think about the life of Jesus. Jesus, fully man knew the lessons of His Father. He had once held all the keys I had ever received and infinitely more, and He never lost a single one! How?

At first, the waters of depression seemed undaunted by my pondering, but as Jesus came more into view, the waters, still ragging, were forced to recede down the banks. With every thought of Jesus, the waters became more distant; still discernible by sight and sound but fainter in both regards with every minute of quiet contemplation. It was here I began to recognize my inferior view of Christ. I had focused too much on His humanity, and not near enough on His deity. Sitting here in my quiet living room with sounds in the background of some children's cartoon my six year old had discovered, I began to recognize His Holiness to a greater degree than I had known. Sure, I knew Jesus was Holy. Some of my favorite scriptures come from the scene in Revelation declaring His Holiness (Revelation 5). However, what I was learning now was His Holy ability to follow His Father. He was resolute in His determination to do the Father's Will. My own life was consumed with an unnoticed compartmentalization, and much of the compartments in my life had as a label: mine - do not touch. Securely locked. As I contemplated Jesus life on Earth, there was a stark difference to His than my own.

Each day Jesus began life with a resolve to be obedient to the Father. He sought His Father's will in the morning: Mark 1: 35. He spoke only what His Father gave Him to say (John 12: 50). And did only what the Father commanded Him to do, ultimately leading to death on a Cross (Luke 22: 42). My life is a stark contrast. For a few moments, that reality seemed to rise the floodwaters of discouragement below, but I was swiftly carried up to a higher plateau, far above the floodwaters, an area filled with light and a perfect climate began to open my own soul to the same. For it was in this moment that I realized, Jesus was more Holy than I could imagine and that all needed for my life to change was to follow His example and invite the Father into every aspect of my daily life.

Sure, that sounds like something we have heard a thousand times over. Yet, it had become so common place in my own life that it was much like the saying: "can't see the forest for the trees." I knew Jesus was Holy the same way I knew I should invite the Father into my everyday life. However, it was here that the knowledge became tangible. It moved from theory and information to a road map I never knew I needed because I had never known how truly lost I was! You see that is the problem with much of us. We don't invite the Father into our lives, because we think we know the way! We've lived so long going here and there, and doing this and that until we have unwittingly turned on auto-pilot not recognizing we are heading in the exact opposite direction from where our hearts long to be. Sunday morning sermons sometimes rouse us from our sleep, but they have failed to get us to turn off the auto-pilot and soon we find ourselves dozing off again.

We long for a change. We long for adventure. We yearn for something to excite us. We know, innately know, that we were made for more than what our lives have become. We catch visions of the beauty our life was made to be and are granted a key to an incredible world that our soul longs for, only to misplace it within a few days by the rhythmic sounds of the daily waters of the life we have carved in our world. But what if? What if, we could know what to do? What if we could know what to say to the people in our lives? What if each day was met with extraordinary encounters of God meeting a need right in front of us? What if we found ourselves sinning less? What if the waters of discouragement were changed to parted seas, stormy seas made calm, or even times we found ourselves walking on the water itself?

The key is to rest every decision in the Father's hand. Unlike Jesus, I don't think we will ever give up every compartment of our life to the Father's will. However, I do think that if we ever start, we will find it increasingly harder to go back to auto-pilot. As the line from the movie UP declares: "adventure is out there." So, what are some steps to move from auto-pilot to a life of adventure?

1) At the start of our day, before our feet hit the ground, will you invite the Father to direct you actions, thoughts, and deeds?

A) Even more specific: Will you ask Him and the Holy Spirit to direct which way you travel to work?

B) While on the way to work, will you ask for words to say to the people you encounter today? A word of encouragement? A word of wisdom? The gospel?

C) While at work, will you ask for the Father to guide your actions and give you His insight into your work? To direct your time? To direct your mind and your responses?

2) As you travel through the day at work, will you pray specifically for those you work with?

A) Will you ask Him to show you someone new today?

B) At lunch - will you ask Him to show you who to speak to?

C) At the end of your workday, will you acknowledge all the ways He was present?

3) On the car ride home:

A) Will you pray for what route to take?

B) Will you pray for your family?

C) Will you thank Him for your possessions?

D) Will you invite Him into your needs?

4) At the end of the day:

A) Communicate with someone in your home about a few of the ways the Father directed your day.

B) Make a list of the ways you heard and obeyed the Father.

C) End the day with thanksgiving, giving the Father thanks for walking with you.