The Prodigal Child Part II

A previous post titled The Prodigal Child describes the prodigal path as a path of selfishness that leads you away from God. The problem with the prodigal path is it ruins your relationship with God, with others, and with yourself.

The prodigal path is fun and exciting when you first start to walk on it. You embark on a journey that seems to fix any number of problems you might have in your life.

Maybe your marriage is not what you want it to be so you are drawn to someone else, regardless of whether or not they are married, too. You feel the excitement of something new and forbidden. You walk towards that other person in your mind and heart and then in word and deed. You become blinded by sin and are walking the path of adultery and divorce leaving damaged and broken lives behind you. It doesn’t matter that God tells you in the Bible that He hates divorce.

Maybe your prodigal path is one of total withdrawal. You have retreated from life and refuse to be a participant. You do not trust anyone nor do you seek to share your hurts with anyone. You hold on to bitterness and anger nursing it as a reminder of the injuries you have experienced in life. A friend's betrayal, a spouse's lies and adultery, a rape, child abuse, a medical diagnosis, a loved one's death, or your own sin has made you retreat to a life of solitude powered by hurt, loneliness, anger, bitterness, pain, or shame. It doesn’t matter that God has promised to forgive you, restore you to a relationship with Him, and be with you always and to never leave you.

Maybe you are bored or disenchanted with life and one night while surfing the internet you come across a provocative website. The excitement of pornography grabs your attention. Before you know it, you are registered on multiple websites catering to a sexual addiction that steals you of your time and money. It doesn’t matter that God tells you in the Bible that you are to be pure in our thoughts and actions.

Maybe you have pain and torment that you have no idea what to do with. God hasn't answered your prayers for deliverance and you become tired of waiting for Him to deliver you. So you seek to relieve your pain in any one of the following diversions; alcohol, drugs, fantasy, shopping, or gossiping. You find that diversions like these numb your mind or body and make you forget your pain. These things will lead you to walk down the prodigal path of addiction. It doesn’t matter that God tells you in the Bible that He will comfort you and heal you.

It does not matter what your prodigal path looks like or what activities you participate in along the way. The departure point and the destination point are all the same. The departure point is rejecting God and His plan for your life. The destination point is ruin, destruction, and death to you and those affected by your choices.

There is an alternative route to the prodigal path. It is called the path of righteousness, or right living with God. The path of righteousness is a safe path, a healthy path, a life-giving path. The traveling companions on the path of righteousness are God the Father, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit Who will be your teacher, guide and comforter. You also have angels watching over you as you travel the path of righteousness.
There is a famous poem titled The Road Not Taken (also known as The Road Less Traveled) by Robert Frost. In this poem, the traveler states:

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

There are two roads in life to choose from: the path of the prodigal which leads to ruin, decay, and destruction or the path of righteousness which leads to life, peace, and joy. In our American culture, it appears as if the road less traveled is the path of righteousness. I have no doubt that if you travel the path of righteousness it will make all the difference in your life. Choose God’s path of right living and as you make the journey, let God minister peace and healing to your soul and to your life.

Scripture and References
Malachi 2:14-16: “…the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. … So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. ‘I hate divorce,’ says the Lord God…”

Deuteronomy 31:6: “…the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

James 5:16: “Confess your sins [faults] to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Psalm 101:2-3: “I will be careful to lead a blameless life…I will walk in my house with a blameless heart. I will set before my eyes no vile thing.”

I Timothy 5:22: “…do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.”

Psalm 34:18: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Matthew 5:4: “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.”

Galatians 6:8-9: “Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at…[He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap. For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.” (Amplified Version)

The Road Not Taken can be found at http://quotations.about.com/cs/poemlyrics/a/Road_Not_Taken.htm

A Brick Wall or a Speedbump?

I attended a Mark Lowry concert one time. Mark is a singer and Christian comedian. During the concert he talked about those events that occur in our lives that feel like brick walls. He said these difficult events look like brick walls and feel like brick walls even when we are surrendering the circumstances to the Lord. However, as time goes by and places a perspective on that event in our life, we have the ability to see that what seemed like a brick wall at the time was only a speed bump.

I do not know what you may have going on in your life right now, but I have a situation that absolutely feels like a brick wall and it hurts. The initial event occurred over a year ago and ended with circumstances that created a different reality for me. I did not ask for these circumstances and had no control over them yet they have changed my life forever. Maybe you have circumstances that you are experiencing because someone else is making decisions that affect you and you cannot do anything about it. It is not fair because their decisions affect your life and yet you have no control over what they will decide. Maybe your brick wall is a medical diagnosis, the death of a loved one, a divorce, or a career downsizing. Whatever the circumstance might be, God has promised to never leave us nor turn His back on us. In the Old Testament, Isaiah wrote the following as a word from God:

“Fear not, I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Isaiah 43:1-3

God never promised that we would not have problems or pain. However, He has promised that He would lead us through the painful circumstances in victory. In the New Testament Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). I have decided that in spite of what has been done to me and how it has changed my life, I will allow the Lord to work in me and change me so that I might get through my circumstances and be a better person as a result of what has happened. It’s just the getting through it that is a challenge.

If we hold on to God and the hope that can be found in the Bible and seek to do what He wants us to do, I have no doubt that we will make it through. Remember, when you hold onto God, He will lead you through your circumstances and you will be a better person as a result.

Scriptures Used
Isaiah 43:1-3: “Fear not, I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”