Heb 6:1-2 – “Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principlesof Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”

There comes a time in every Christian’s life when it is time to move on from the basics of faith. As a believer becomes more and more free in Christ, God widens the road in front of them. The path to holiness, which at one time may have felt like a winding path through the forest, becomes a highway. As the Lord clears out the obstacles of life which hold a person back… fear, anxiety, doubt, etc… the speed at which we are able to grow in kingdom revelation dramatically increases. As that occurs, the Lord extends our tent pegs so to speak, giving us more room to move and maneuver. There is newfound freedom in this place, which many people are uncertain about, and find it difficult to move ahead. 

Let me illustrate. The path of a mature believer feels more like that of a ship on the ocean than a car on the road. On the water, the path from one point to another is often much straighter than on land. There are fewer obstacles in the way. As long as the captain steers clear of shallow waters, his choice of path is almost limitless. 

Here I am sitting at the end of a jetty at Pine Point Beach in Scarborough, Maine. About seven miles directly in front of me is a lighthouse, which is barely visible to my eye. Someone would really need to know it was there to even make it out. Here’s a little help of the telephoto camera lense. Sometimes the most important things to see are just out of our range of vision.

To drive to this lighthouse would take me roughly 20 minutes longer than by boat, having no choice but to drive on roads defined by natural boundaries. 

Often times we know the destination the Lord has in mind, but the exact path is very unclear. Besides the obstacles, the vehicle we choose to get us there makes a huge difference as well. We could walk, bike, drive a car, boat or airplane. But, regardless of the vehicle we currently drive, one thing stays the same… the destination! 

Getting to that destination may seem impossible, yet if God has said go there, then there is always a way. Once we set it in our hearts to obey His voice, the most important thing to do is simply stay the course. If we set mind to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading no matter what, then the wind and waves which the enemy throws against us will not move us very far off course at any point along the way. 

A good captain knows how to navigate his ship to its destination in any weather. We talked about fog in the last post. Fog in our spiritual weather forecast can slow us down significantly. Not being able to clearly see the path makes the journey difficult, even fearful. After all, the fog can conceal many hidden dangers. 

I remember one morning sitting on the beach in Montego Bay during my morning prayer time. The sky was overcast with many scattered  rain showers. A small plane was trying to land at the nearby airport. I could see him appearing and disappearing through the clouds, and thought to myself, that must have been scary. He had to land on a runway he couldn’t see. The Lord spoke to me asking, “Can you land this plane?” I’ve had the privilege of being in the cockpit of a small plane like the one I was watching fly by. Landing in clear sky’s is scary enough for me. So I had some reference to what the Lord was asking. He wasn’t speaking about my flying ability or lack thereof. No he was asking if I could and would be able to land the metaphorical vehicle that would get me to the end of the next leg of my spiritual journey.  

He said there will come a time when you regret having asked for this. When you will not be able to see the path clearly before you. What will you do at that time? When you are like the pilot of this plane and you can’t see the runway? When fear is coursing through your veins and you’re running out of fuel? Will you be able to land that plane? 

Man I sure love those kind of questions from the Lord. It makes you really start to wonder what you are made of and how much faith you really have. But, here is the answer every good captain understands. When you are hopelessly lost… you stop! You assess the situation. Are you in immediate danger? Once you address the danger issues the fear takes a backseat. Now you can think clearly and most importantly hear the voice of the Lord clearly. You then look around and find the nearest waypoints. 

Good waypoints are stationary objects, meaning they don’t move or change. The unchanging, unshakable things around us that we know are true. Such as a lighthouse or buoy. A captain uses these navigational waypoints to narrow down his location. However, in the fog, you can see the beacon of a lighthouse or the marker buoy. Which is why these important markers also have horns and bells. 

I can say when you are caught in dense fog on the ocean, hearing the sound of a fog horn is not very comforting. It means you are close to the rocks or another ship, in other words in a place of danger. But at the same time, the warning itself enables you to make good judgements. 

When we are lost along the path, our first waypoint needs to be Jesus. He is our unmovable, unshakeable, unchangeable reference point. Our lighthouse in the storm. Pointing the way to safe waters, and the correct path. 

After a surprise hiccup yesterday, I really began to doubt that I was on the right path. There was a lot of spiritual fog clouding my judgement. I woke up before sunrise and headed to my favorite spot on the beach, where I’m writing this now. A lot of noise was running through my head. Noise is never good! As I drove down the road just before dawn, I noticed a lot of very black smoke, coming from a residential neighborhood. My immediate thought was to go and make sure someone wasn’t in danger. I asked the Lord what if I should go try and help or call 911? He replied, “Stay the course!”  I kept on my way. A minute later I hear the ring of the sirens. God already had someone on that situation, I would have just been in the way, and would have missed this whole lesson. 

Stay the course! There are going to be fires, both spiritual and physical in the days ahead. There will be much black smoke and surely plenty of fog. But, we cannot allow those things to steer us off course. Stay the course! Trust the Lord is leading. Trust His provision and protection, even in the fog. That’s mountain moving faith! The kind which will propel you to the destination at rocket ship speed, even though it may feel as if it’s two steps forward and one step back. Stay the course! 
If it wasn’t for the hiccup, I wouldn’t have gone back to the beach this morning. If I hadn’t gone to the beach, I wouldn’t have seen the fire. If I hadn’t seen the fire, I would not have written this post. If I had gone to put out the fire, I would not have obeyed God. Stay the course!