Tag: Sojourner

To Look Or Not To Look

~ Sowmya Gali

Genesis 19: 17, 26

When they had brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.”

But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Luke 15: 17

But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!’

To look or not to look? That is the question. One question that has plagued mankind from ancient days. Lot and his family settled in Sodom and Gomorrah comfortably after years of wandering. They have been accepted in that society so much so that Lot became one of the elders of the city. Their daughters were engaged to local men. All was going well for Lot, his wife and their two daughters. All of a sudden, God pronounced judgment on the twin cities for their wicked deeds. Overnight, God commanded them to leave everything behind and run for their lives.

Lot and his daughters obeyed and in panic ran towards the mountains. However, Lot’s wife, heartbroken to leave her nice home, her friends and neighbors, and her life behind so abruptly, turned around and looked back longingly at what she was leaving behind. It was her yearning for what she was leaving behind instead of the longing for what lay ahead caused her to turn into a pillar of salt. God was preventing them from looking back because he was destroying that past to dust and ashes so they could never return to that.

Numerous times in our own lives, God snatches us away from situations that could have been detrimental to us if we remained. We may not be prepared for such drastic change but God in His infinite mercy is protecting us from the impending pain or trouble. We may have been in toxic relationships that are causing us to stray away from God and make excuses to continue in our sin. Several times, we wouldn’t even know we were in the wrong because we chose to go with the flow of the current time. We didn’t want trouble when trouble was brewing all around us. Instead of escaping with our lives, we chose to compromise, we chose to yearn for the things that were familiar and comfortable.

In the story of the prodigal son, in his dire circumstances, he longed for a decent meal. He remembered the days of plenty and luxury in his father’s house. He remembered the comfort, the love and joy of his father’s house. He even remembered that the servants in his father’s household had excess food. Because he longed for the comfort of his father’s house, he chose to humble himself and return to his father’s house. The humiliation he was enduring was too much to bear. For his sin that he committed against his father, he was willing to bear whatever punishment his father would render him but return and remain in his father’s household.

We may have been the prodigal who chose to run after the world and its attractions. After getting burned, after exhausting all our resources, after getting betrayed, finding ourselves lonely, wasted and rejected, we remember the good old days. The joy and comfort of a loving family, the goodness of God we may have enjoyed, the peace of God that pervaded our entire being – all beckon us to return home. Looking and longing for the goodness of our past is wonderful as it causes us to steer ourselves back on to the familiar yet straight and narrow path.

Dear Sojourners, wherever we find ourselves in this life’s journey, it is always good to gauge ourselves against the Word of God. When God has taken us far away from the evil that could have ruined us, we should be grateful for the rescue and not yearn for such a past. When God has reminded us of our past where we have basked in the lap of His goodness, we should be grateful for such a beautiful past and yearn to return to it. As long as we are in His will, living out His purposes for His glory and for His Kingdom, it is our prerogative to either return to His fold or strive to enter His fold. It is our prerogative to look or not to look based on our situation.

Jeremiah 6: 16 – 17

Thus says the Lord, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

“And I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’” Yes, there is wisdom in the ancient paths. Let us chose to adhere to those ancient paths for there is freedom, love, joy, comfort, peace and prosperity. Irrespective of our past, let us forge ahead towards the eternity that awaits us. Let us set our eyes on Christ, who was, who is and who is to come!

Detour To Running Waters

~ Sowmya Gali

Psalm 1: 1-3

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

We recently embarked on a trip to Payson, Arizona, a small quaint town in the Tonto National Forest. It was a short two-hour ride from the South East Valley of Phoenix to the North East mountains of Tonto National Forest. As we ascended the mountains at a steady grade, we could observe the changing landscape before our eyes. From the dry valley with scattered small shrubs and cacti, we slowly ascended to larger and taller cacti over the rolling hills with medium sized shrubs. In the distance large mountains were looming, void of any trees. We wondered if there was any water source nearby. Just as the thought crept up in our minds, our GPS display showed a blue snake meandering a few hundred feet from the main highway. Soon, we noticed signs for Salt River recreation sites. There were detours from the main highway to go towards the river.

Our plan was to reach the Mogollon Rim at 7000 ft beyond Payson. In a hurry, we didn’t stop at any of the sites that would lead to the Salt River’s edge. We could see people with boats, canoes and trailers heading towards the river. Ignoring the signs, off we traversed on the highway towards our destination. We continued to see more cacti despite the elevation. Once we reached around 3000-4000 feet, the cacti disappeared and more trees appeared. As we continued our ascent, we noticed that the small trees disappeared and tall Ponderosa pines appeared. As we reached our destination at about 7000 feet, we were treated to a delightful site of the mountains all across the horizon, the highway that we just were on now seemed a distant winding path.

Our life’s journey is so much like our own journey to the Mogollon Rim. We go through life carrying the thorns and thistles so much so that they become a part of our life. The thorn filled cacti have become a part of our life’s journey. The worldly addictions, struggles, pains, heartbreaks and such are something we tend to carry as we journey through life. With all the thistles, we trudge on to make something big or something meaningful of our lives. We are in a rush to reach our destination, hurrying to accomplish everything that we’ve set out to do. We want to feel the sense of accomplishment as we come to life’s end.

We ignore all detour signs, detours to places of some respite, detours to start afresh, detours to turn around, etc., when all along our life’s journey, there is a river flowing with living waters right next to us. We have had glimpses of the river, heard the peaceful sound of gentle running waters as they trickled over the rocks, the sound of chirping birds as they took their dips to cool off, and the occasional neighing of the wild horses as they crossed the river to greener pastures. Yet we pressed on. We reasoned that as good as detours maybe, we must continue on with less distractions. And so, we forge ahead.

It is only at our destination that we realize the path that we were on seems so distant and meaningless. Our destination doesn’t seem to be what we hoped for.  All the hard work, pains and struggles seem pointless. We wonder if we had taken those detours, how our life’s journey would have turned out. How desperately we have avoided the running waters considering that they would be a distraction!

Fellow Sojourner, Jesus, the source of our living waters is just a small detour away to find rest, peace, comfort, a new meaning, and a new purpose in life. He is right next to our own path all along, where He is beckoning us to come and wet our feet in the cool springs. He is nudging us to take that detour from the mad dash we are making to find meaning and purpose for our lives. As we journey through this life, let us be alert to the detour signs that the Holy Spirit places in our way. In so taking those detours, we will find the running waters. If we find ourselves planted by those living waters, be rest assured that we will be fruitful in all seasons of our lives. From there on, where ever we go, we can be confident that our roots go deep to the living waters. No storm can uproot us. No valley can scare us. No mountain can stop us. When we finally arrive at our destination, there are no what ifs, no regrets and no disappointments. Instead, our joy multiplies and looking back at the path that we journeyed on, we see the river of living waters meandering alongside our own path, nourishing us, strengthening us and satisfying us.

Dearly beloved, take that detour if God is prompting you to. You will not be disappointed. For our confidence is in the Lord of Hosts, who is the source of refreshing, healing and renewing living waters.