Friday, August 29, 2014

Wrong Turns

Isaiah 65:1-2 - "I've made myself available to those who haven't bothered to ask. I'm here, ready to be found by those who haven't bothered to look. I kept saying, 'I'm here, I'm right here' to a nation that ignored me. I reached out day after day to a people who turned their backs on me, People who make wrong turns, who insist on doing things their own way."

I can just see Him. 
God as  Arnold Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter. 
Waving His hand frantically, jumping up & down in His chair, and shouting, "Oh! Oh! Oh!"  

Trying to get my attention.

Of course, ole Mr. Kotter ... (that would be me ... or maybe you) ... knows that Horshack is there. Mr. Kotter just ignores Him as long as possible. Eventually His need to be heard is recognized.

"People who make wrong turns, who insist on doing things their own way..." - that's the part that really hits home with me.

I know He's talking about lost people ... people who are resistant to God ... people who have not come to know Him ... not one of His own who simply find themselves lost.

Yet the truth is ... He's talking about ME!

Sometimes I get so excited about where I am going....and all of the possibilities along the way.....that I run ahead.....of myself....and of God. 

Adventuresome as I am, there is often no one in front of me who knows where it is that I am supposed to go... so guess what ... I make wrong turns!

I have enjoyed some of those scenic routes. I've found unexpected joys in hidden places. 

... the road that leads to nowhere ...
It must be awfully amusing to God ... to see me running willy-nilly ... when He knows that where the road really leads ... is exactly where I want to go ... if I would simply stay the course.

Stubbornly ... I tend to take off on my own ... sure that I know the way.  Impatience clouding my vision.  At some point I realize that I made a wrong turn ... that I am sort of off track ... 
a little lost.

What was I thinking?!?  I have no sense of direction.

And there I am ... impatiently waiting patiently ... on God ... to show up & rescue me from the out-of-the-way places I find myself.

OH! OH! OH!
All the while, He's waving His hand ... trying to get my attention.
You see, God, He is patiently waiting on ME ...

Juan Epstein: [Late at night in the dark classroom] Hey, Horshack. Tell me somethin'. 
Do you ever think about what God is like?
Arnold Horshack: Oh, yeah. I think he's short. And he has a marvelous sense of humor. 

And a great laugh.  

Horshack. And God.
They snort ... when they laugh.

.

1 comment:

  1. Love it! They snort when they laugh! Giggle! :-)

    ReplyDelete