Some feet exited bondage
Their hearts still left behind.
Rather than rest in the land
Of promise that seems sublime
And sometimes, a mirage,
Every challenge triggers
Desperate hunger to quit;
To turn back and return
To the only certainty they knew.
Preferring the known to the unseen
They missed the future and its glory
Because nobody ever gets ahead
Looking behind.

Food For Thought: When we give more than we can afford, we inadvertently rob Peter to pay Paul. The Paul in this situation could be family, friends, or colleagues. Bottom line, we have played “unfair” as norm. Sometimes we get away with it and life goes on. Some others, we are badly burned and recovery becomes a struggle. We find ourselves stuck where we were burnt, not because we despise progress. When we consider how much was wasted on that spot, the costly loss makes healing and progress almost impossible. If and when eventually we heal enough to take steps away, possibly forward, we hardly go far from where we were burned. Hope lingers: who knows, maybe there will be a change, things could improve: you don’t want to miss any chances if things eventually got better. Sometimes, despite glaring confirmations that it is over, we linger in hope. For as long as we linger, full recovery will be harder. Drastic change may not be the answer. A little step everyday as we follow our heart in answer to the leading of God’s Spirit, takes us from where we were felled and burned, to the place where those who encounter us will neither see a scar that confirms our fall nor smell the smoke that speaks of the fire we escaped. For as long as our hearts remain with what was lost, we cannot go far. The day we set our faces straight to answer the call of life, we shift until we lose connection to the loss, until we cease to be victims but victors who triumphed in spite of all they had to go through.

Scripture: So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Hebrews 3: 19.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I believe: I know it is easy to believe when the atmosphere is calm but when it grows foul, please calm my doubts and reassure my heart with Your unfailing truth, amen.