Okay, I know that's an odd title for a blog, but it grabbed your attention!! In my new role as a district supervisor with The Foursquare Church, I'm traveling a lot more than I ever have before, as would be expected. A lot of my travels are regionally directed within the Southeast, but from time to time, I find myself on trips that take me westward. There are a lot of analogies and illustrations that I could draw from traveling on airplanes...such as sitting on a delayed regional jet for an hour and a half, next to a man twice my size (and I'm a big boy), in front of an individual that had not had a "shower experience" for quite some, and directly in front of a lady holding a small child that continually pulled on and kicked my seat! Those are lessons in patience, however; that's not the focus of my blog today.
Whenever I am traveling from the East Coast to the West Coast, it always takes longer than coming home, west to east. When I first began flying that route, that little fact confused me until I learned about headwinds and tailwinds. Obviously, due to the airstream that flows from west to east, when you are traveling west, you are "against" the airstream and when you are flying east, you are flying "with" the airstream. No surprise that going against the airstream takes longer. In fact, it not only takes longer, but it costs more fuel. Let's reason that out for a moment...it takes longer to get there, it costs more in fuel and is more taxing on the airplane, and that's going the exact same distance in terms of mileage!
How many times have I done that in my life and ministry? Instead of working "with" the Holy Spirit and being led by Him in what I am called to do, it is so easy just to go with an idea or something that I've seen somewhere else. In Genesis 26, we find that the Philistines filled in the wells of Abraham and Isaac out of jealousy and spite towards Isaac's success and prosperity. Isaac simply moved on and dug another well. Each well that he dug was taken over by the Philistines, and they eventually ran Isaac out of town. The problem with that, is when Isaac left, the wells dried up! So, the blessing is not in the well itself, or even in the digging of the well; but in your obedience. Just because you see somebody else digging a well, doesn't mean that you're supposed to dig one! Psalms 127:1 says that unless the Lord builds the house, those that labor, do it in vain. If it's not a "God idea" for you, then it's just an "good idea" and has no guarantee of His blessing upon it. In fact, if God didn't mandate it, He has no obligation to bless it. I don't know about you, but I don't want to have to pay for a house out of my pocket that I built in the name of God. Whenever He guides, He provides!
In Romans 8:26, we are told that "the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses, when we don't know how to pray or even what to pray for" and that He does it "with groanings that cannot be uttered". That's a "divine tailwind! That's when you get there quicker, it's not as laborious and it doesn't cost as much money! All my christian life, I have heard people say: "well you know brother, all things work together for good..." I have discovered that you cannot disconnect verse 28 from verse 26. I have found that all things do not work together for good unless you are flying by the divine tailwind! When you allow the Holy Spirit to intercede on your behalf and to lead and guide and direct your affairs and then you live in obedience to Him, then things began to turn around for His purposes and for your benefit. For years, I have lived by Proverbs 3:5-6; "trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not unto your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."
The word "acknowledge" is the hebrew word "yada" (yaw-dah), and it is a jewish idiom for a intimate relationship between a man and a woman. In other words, the direction and guidance of the Lord in my life flows out of my personal, intimate relationship with Jesus. I can't afford to just move forward on my own merits, my own ideas or even learned behaviors. I press in daily for a creative anointing on my life and for a fresh idea and approach to everything in my life. God is not boring, He doesn't have to go to Egypt for a good idea and neither do you. Everything that you need to be a success in life is already on the inside of you...it's called the "anointing to live"!!! So, stop flying against the headwind...save yourself time, frustration, money and wear and tear, and go with God's leading...the divine tailwind!!
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