As creatures of habit, we take the same roads to work, school, and church each time we go. We call it efficiency. But we also have a road we take when we’re struggling. Typically it’s the same road each time.
When faced with a problem or a temptation, we tend to retrace our steps and head in a direction we’ve gone a thousand times before.
- It’s familiar.
- It often makes most sense.
- It’s a well-traveled road; most people take it.
There’s a road in the book of Genesis called the “Way to Shur.” The patriarchs took it more than once.
It’s the same road we take when we’re struggling.
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It happens most times I’m in Jerusalem. I hear the question. “You’re telling me this isn’t the true Via Dolorosa, the “Way of Suffering” Jesus walked with His cross from Pilate’s Praetorium to Calvary? Then where is it?”
The Via Dolorosa of today marks an exercise in faith more than fact, and its stops or “stations” reflect Catholic tradition more than history. Popularized by Sandi Patti’s hit song in 1991, the Via Dolorosa also attracts the veneration of Protestant pilgrims who journey to Jerusalem.
There’s just one problem. The true path to the cross was in a completely different place.
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Imagine your life without light. No corrective lenses would help. Without light, even 20/20 eyes see nothing. Why? Your ability to see comes from a source completely outside of yourself. Without light, you have no sight.
(Photo courtesy of Unsplash)
So often life feels like we’re groping in the dark for answers. How do we know which way to go? How do we find answers to our questions? That’s why David writes:
The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? —Psalm 27:1
The Lord illumines what otherwise would remain hidden in darkness. But there’s a problem. We need more than direction and even more than answers.
So God’s light gives us another essential help.
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Think of the places most significant to you. That’s right, the places. What makes them so special? Most likely, it’s not the places themselves but the events that took place there.
In our lives, events make places significant because of memories. But in biblical times, it was often just the opposite. The place itself often played a major role in causing a significant event.
The lands of the Bible offer more than a mere backdrop for the stories of the Bible. These places played an integral role in shaping the lives of those who lived there. God designed it so. And for us, understanding how the land shaped its people gives us tremendous insight into understanding Scripture.
Even more, it gives us a glimpse as to how God uses even geography in our lives today.
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Sometimes we confuse the holy for the common. Tourism proves it. What sites does your hometown or nearby big city offer tourists? Let me guess. Nobody comes to your city to see the local landfill.
In San Antonio (where I grew up), the Alamo and Riverwalk still draw a crowd. In Dallas (near where I live now), Dealey Plaza ranks near the top. But the garbage dump never ranks high on “Things to See” (or smell) for any city.
Except perhaps Jerusalem.
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You started strong. Determination and strength came easily. You reach a summit in your day (or Christian life)—only to find life in high places has let you down.
We followed the rules. We stayed in line. We walked the straight and narrow. So what happened?
The path we followed led to a false summit. A huge distraction.
It happens when we forget this one thing.
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Sometimes what you expect is not what you get. You come to a situation that promises one thing, but you find another altogether. Monday of Passion Week proved that way for Jesus.
After His Triumphal Entry on the colt, Jesus entered the Temple area in Jerusalem and found the Court of the Gentiles—the area for Gentiles to worship God—filled with markets and moneychangers.
The next day, Monday, Jesus returned to Jerusalem along the same road He had traveled before. He saw a fig tree in leaf, which typically indicated that it would have unripe figs to eat. But the tree offered only leaves.
No fruit for breakfast. So Jesus cursed the tree. His disciples heard Him.
We should hear Him too.
Jesus’ words indicate what He is looking for in our lives.
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Whenever I visit the holocaust museum in Jerusalem I like walking down the “Row of Righteous Gentiles.” It’s a great reminder of the one thing we need in order for God to use us.
This quick video will tell you what it is.
I walked by the Church of the Primacy of Peter yesterday—beside the Sea of Galilee—one of my favorite places in all Israel. Why so special? Because here Jesus said something to Peter we all need to hear when we’ve blown it. Watch the video.
If you have a twinge of fear to follow God’s leading, you’re not alone. After all, your future is clear only to Him—and He is good at keeping secrets. At Beersheba, Jacob had this struggle. What God told him also applies to you.
Beersheba epitomizes the faith God required to live in the Holy Land. Standing in the arid winds of Tel Beersheba, the truth seems both overwhelming and irresistible.
God used this unassuming, barren place to shape some of the most significant lives in the Bible.
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