"Gotta Keep Your Head Up" - Devo #11

Unless you’ve been sitting under a rock this past week, or a heated blanket as my mom would be doing, you probably noticed that the Midwest got a little bit chilly outside. By chilly, I mean -50° and dropping with the wind chill. Thankfully, my college had cancelled school for this past Wednesday, however, we still had school the days prior to then as well as the couple of days afterwards. The winds were howling, the snow was like sand, blasting away at everyone’s faces, and people were getting very sick.

I was lucky enough to not be one of the sick people, but I did feel pretty crappy. My neck was hurting all week, not because I was looking down at my phone, but because between classes, I would have my hood tied up around my face like a ninja trying to cover up every square millimeter of skin I had exposed.

Here’s what my view looked like:

My only way of getting to classes was by looking at the footprints in front of me, following a path that had already been shoveled, and every once in a while, peek my head up to see where I was going.

Before I connect my winter wilderness walks with my spiritual walk (dad joke...because I was walking), I want to share a verse from scripture that should hopefully shovel the path ahead for where I’m going (another dad joke...man I’m funny!)

Proverbs 4:25

Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.

(Read Proverbs 4:20-27 to gain a better understanding of the one verse)

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As I was walking back and forth between classes and my dorm room, I felt like I was walking 3 times as slow because of the wind and cold. Surprisingly, I had enough time then to think about what I was going to write for this morning.

We often want to create our own paths in life. We want to choose the easier paths rather than shovel our way through or pray that our paths will be shoveled when we get to a place when we're stuck or lost.

But.......I think that the most important path for us to follow is God's.

I believe that as humans, we think about our earthly wants for our lives before we look at what God has set forth for us. Such earthly wants may include money, social status, a boyfriend/girlfriend, something someone else has, or a healthier-looking summer body as opposed to our current winter-layers that are serving to protect our 6-pack abs.

It's unusual to think on a daily basis "All I need is God". Not everyone thinks that, and especially not when we don't get what we think we need in order to be thankful.

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Psalm 3:3

But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.

God is kind of like our winter coat and our light before us.

He will lift our heads towards His way, and we have the free will to choose if we want our way to line up with His way.

This is a BIG challenge in our faith.

I've seen many others with their heads down lately. Some in class during psychology lectures, some in the lunchroom, and some on social media.

I don't mean literally when I refer to those on social media. I mean the ones who are covering up their pain, or the ones who message me or they message others about their pain, and I end up hearing about their current struggles with having faith in God's plan for them.

My response to them has most likely been, "Be patient, friend." but it's a lot easier said than done, isn't it?

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Last verse, Mark 1:3

A voice of one calling in the wilderness, "Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him."

I believe that in order to be patient, we have to prepare ourselves. Just as we continue to go to school or work nearly every single day, we need to educate ourselves in our faith.

If we choose to put our relationship with God on the back-burner just like I do with my English Literature class, we are not going to appreciate what He's done for us.

God has shoveled our paths for us. He has created a way for us to go. It might contain a few -50° days and a few other crappy days, but He is only testing your faith just as Jesus was tested. The least we can do for Him and our brothers and sisters in Christ is be thankful and continue to seek out the resources that He has provided us with:

- His Word

- Prayer

- Fellowship

- Worship Music (my favorite)

- Food and Fellowship (my 2nd favorite)

To finish off this devo, I challenge everyone who reads this as well as anyone you share God's love with to keep your head up and look forward to what God has for you. He will give you what and who you need, but you need to prepare His way while He prepares your way.

With that said,

watch this 5 second video

and go lift someone else's head as you enter into your Monday-Friday.

God bless you this week,

Live, love, and be loved.