Echoes From the Campfire

[Don Adkisson]

       "A good bed was what a trail driver yearned for and seldom got."
                    --Zane Grey  (The Trail Driver)

        "And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not."
                    --Deuteronomy 8:2 (ESV)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Remember the words of the old Sunday School song?
               "My Lord knows the way through the wilderness,
               All I have to do is follow.
               Strength for today is mine always,
               And all that I need for tomorrow."
                     --Sidney E. Cox
Three things in this verse stand out to me.  First, God knows the way, the Holy Spirit is our guide.  Second, He gives us strength to walk each day.  This is true for today and each day that follows.  Third, all I have to do is follow.  Follow is all.  He guides, He shows the way, He provides the strength--we just have to follow.  But what does that entail? Obedience, loyalty, depending on Him, surrender, and we could name a few more.  But the key is to follow.  The CEV translates the last phrase of Deuteronomy 8:2 this way,  "He wanted to find out if you were truly willing to obey him and depend on him."  That's what Jesus was getting at when He said, pick up your cross daily and follow Me. (Luke 9:23)
     Never forget though, we are traveling through enemy territory.  In this journey we should be seeking the higher ground--upward to glory, along with a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Christ.  In one manner of speaking, we all travel on the same journey, the road to heaven.  However, each of us must walk our own way, fulfilling His purpose in our lives.  The words of Psalm 84:5 should be etched on our hearts and minds:   "Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage." (NKJV)  We are pilgrims, not settlers.  Travelers through this world to a promised land.

               "Every one that comes to Christ has a journey to perform in this world.  Some have a long, and some a short one.  It is through a wilderness.  Still Christ prays that at the end you may be with Him.  Every one that comes to Christ hath his twelve hours to fill up for Christ.  'I must work the works of Him that send me, while it is day.'  But when that is done, Christ prays that you may be with Him.  He means that you shall come to His Father's house with Him....  You are never very intimate with a person till you see them in their own house--till you know them at home.  This is what Christ wants with us--that we shall come to be with Him, at His own home."

                            --Robert Murray McCheyne

D.C. Adkisson