Identity Embrace: Navigate the Fog

The strangest parallel entered my mind the other week.

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It was a dark, wet evening, the thick, gray fog settling in heavy sheets upon the roads. I began driving home from a friend's apartment, and about twenty minutes into my trip, I got caught in the disastrous fog.

I literally could not see ten feet ahead of my car.

Rarely have I felt so terrified--and yet, so determined to get myself home safely. The fog presented to me a challenge, despite the terror I felt inside. At one point, I almost pulled off the road and phoned home.

Here comes the strange part. As I am driving, concentrating with great determination upon the road directly in front of me, a spiritual metaphor presented itself. This looks strange even as I type it, but I remember thinking, "This fog is a direct parallel to spiritual matters of how we deal with the future".

How, you ask? Here are three things that occurred to me that night:

ONE: I could only see so far ahead of my car. The road was no longer panning out before me, and I was forced to gaze intently upon the small width of road directly in my path. I was forced to trust in those next few feet, even though I had no clue what lay ahead.

TWO: Focusing up ahead would end in disaster. Whenever I looked too far ahead, I lost semblence of control and focus with the area of the road I could see. The too-distant fog blinded my capacity to see clearly the immediate road.

THREE: It was much easier to drive (and with greater ease) when a car was in front of me. The taillights of another car meant I had something brighter to look at while navigating the fog.

The spiritual metaphor? We are all in the fog at some point, or another, in our very lives. But God is like the bright taillight, Who generously offers to guide us and lead us through it.

Walking with God means we are called to walk worthy of the calling we have received from Him. Sometimes, that calling may not be clear. Sometimes, the calling is clear, but the details are not. And sometimes, difficult trials occur that fog up our ability to see the next step.

Have you been there? In a fog?

I wonder what God would say

"So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid, and do not panic before them. For the Lord, your God, will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you." Deuteronomy 31:6

God deeply desires us to trust Him with our very lives--not just part of our lives--our entire lives! That means a huge risk on our parts, stepping out into the unknown fog and believing that God is worthy of our trust.

"The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things...Then [Jesus] said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow Me." Luke 9:22-24

Jesus loved us enough to suffer on our behalf and die on a cross...do we truly think that He won't be near us and ahead of us amidst the thickest fog?

He loves us too much to let you go. But ultimately the choice is up to us. Navigate the fog alone, or with Him leading? The eternal rewards are great, should Jesus be the leader of our lives and the song of our hearts.

What fog is Jesus asking you to trust Him in conquering? Is there anything you need to talk to Him about today?