"Concentrate On Following Him - part 2"

"And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him." Matthew 8:23 

Yesterday we talked about how you cannot follow yourself and the Lord at the same time. We also said that when you follow someone else it meant that you had to watch them, pay attention to and concentrate on what they are doing so that you can do the same. I gave the example of when my dad had to have surgery and I took him and my mother to the appointment. My sister followed in her vehicle and my brother followed behind in his. I also said that I took the wrong exit, had to make a U-turn, then had to make the loop to get back on the Interstate to get to the right exit. And if you read it, you know that my sister and brother did the exact same thing. Even though I went the wrong way, they still followed.

 

The point I want to make this morning is that when we are following Jesus, He never leads us in the wrong direction. He doesn't miss His exit. He doesn't get lost. He doesn't have to detour. He knows exactly where He is going. I thought I knew which exit to take to get to the hospital, but I got off one exit too early. He never does, He knows which route to take. 

 

After we got to the hospital, my sister and brother both told me that they knew I had taken the wrong exit, but they kept following so that we could all stay together. When we are following Jesus, it might seem that He has taken the wrong turn, we might think He missed it. We might try to stop Him and point Him in the "right" direction, but He hasn't, He knows where He is going. 

 

When Jesus got word that Lazarus was ill, He waited four days to go to him. When He did go to Lazarus, His disciples thought He was making a mistake. "His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?" (John 11:8) They thought He was going the wrong way. Jesus knew exactly what He was doing and where He was going. Even though they thought He was heading the wrong direction, they went with Him anyway. As a result, they witness one of Jesus' greatest miracles.

 

Sometimes we wonder where Jesus is leading us. Sometimes we think He is taking us in the wrong direction. But He never is. He knows what, where and why He is taking you that way. So just trust Him and follow Him anyway because He is not going in the wrong direction.

 

Have a great day. You may think you know better than Jesus which direction to go, but He knows where He is leading you, and it is no mistake. So just trust Him and follow.

 

For further reading:

John 11:1-44