Follow the Son - Martin Wiles

Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. Isaiah 30:21 NLT

The road was covered by shade, except for one spot.

The highway leading to the church I pastored meandered through miles of country. Acres of forest line each side of the road, making for a shady drive. One of the only two turns I had to make was often difficult to see because of the numerous trees—until I spotted a landmark.

As I drove along, looking for my turn, I noticed a stream of sunlight arch across the highway. This was the only break in miles of shade, and it was the exact spot for my turn. If I followed the sun, I never missed the road.

Isaiah reminded his listeners that God would do the same for them. God was behind, in front of, and all around them. If they would listen and look, they’d never miss or make a wrong turn.

My wife tells me I’m directionally challenged, and she’s right. At the time, our car had no built-in compass, so what seemed like east to me might be west, and north might be south. I travel by road numbers; she looks for landmarks. She can get us where we need to go; I can get us lost.

I’ve lost my way in life more times than I care to remember. My misplacement came because I wasn’t listening to or looking for the Son. When I turned where he told me, I always arrived at the correct destination, but if I turned where I thought it looked like a good road, I wound up at the wrong place and with the wrong people.

Since God sees the beginning, end, and everything in between, it only makes sense to consult him for life’s directions. He will shine the light where we need to turn and prompt us when we need to take another direction. His Word provides a road map, and his Spirit gives us wisdom to read it or hear his promptings clearly. Busyness, selfishness, and misplaced priorities will cause us to miss turns. But a sold-out heart to the Son will get us where we need to go every time.

Look for the light. The Son will never lead you in the wrong direction.

Father, as you shine your light to guide my path, give me wisdom and courage to follow where you lead.

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A Lifetime God - Martin Wiles

I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. Isaiah 46:4 NLT

For fourteen years, I had driven pre-owned vehicles, but things were finally about to change.

In 2002, I bought a new mini SUV. Shortly after purchasing it, my daughter left for college, and the SUV left with her. Life circumstances changed for me shortly before she left, and I couldn’t afford to purchase another new vehicle. For the next fourteen years, my wife and I drove used vehicles. Fortunately, we had little trouble, but we hungered for a new vehicle that we didn’t have to worry about breaking down.

Then suddenly, God put us in a different situation that would allow us to make a modest purchase. We looked for an economical crossover with a good safety record and a low price tag and found the car my wife had dreamed about. The icing on the cake was the car’s warranty—ten years or 100,000 miles. And several more warranties that covered major parts hidden within that one broad spectrum. It was almost like having a lifetime warranty.

God used Isaiah the prophet to assure the nation of Israel that God would be their God throughout their lifetime, if they so desired. I think they wanted it, although they often didn’t act as if they did.

God has been a lifetime God for me. I attended church before I slurped my first breath of air and have been ever since. Even in my times of sinful rebellion, I still loved and worshiped God. 

As my lifetime-God, he never left me. I walked away from him for several years, but he remained ready to accept me back when I returned. Unconditional love he calls it. 

I discovered there is no force more powerful than God—including Satan. Jesus said no one could snatch us out of the Father's hands. We can choose to walk away, but no force can remove us.

Knowing God wants our company for a lifetime gives a sense of security—one of the basic life needs necessary to live fully and peacefully without emotional upsets. When we have the assurance that God is our lifetime God, we can live with confidence, serve him with confidence, and die with confidence.

With Christ as our Savior, we have a lifetime warranty. He will never abandon us.

Father, thank you for your love that lasts a lifetime and even into eternity.

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When God Moves Slowly - Martin Wiles

God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign country where they would be mistreated as slaves for four hundred years. Acts 7:6 NLT

“I got behind you today, and you were just poking along.”

I’m known as a slow driver. Actually, I don’t drive slowly; I merely drive the speed limit. I’ve been driving for almost fifty years, and I can proudly say I’ve never received a ticket—except once when a new set of oversized tires threw my speedometer off. Even then, the officer only gave me a warning. And because I obey the law, my insurance company gives me a safe driver discount.

Not everyone appreciates my attention to the speed limit. One tailrider who thought I was moving too slowly stuck his hand out of his window and rewarded me with a vulgar hand motion. But I’m like the tortoise. I usually arrive at the same time the speeding hares do.

God’s children in Israel thought God was moving too slowly. They had languished in Egyptian slavery, serving a cruel taskmaster for four hundred years. Hadn’t God promised them a Promised Land? What was taking so long? Generation after generation was dying? When was He going to speed up their deliverance? But at the right time and speed, God sent Moses, and he led them out of bondage.

I’ve identified with the Israelites on more than one occasion, complaining that God was poking along. If you called me into the ministry, where’s the church You want me to pastor? If You’ve promised to supply my needs, why must I borrow money to pay this bill? If You want me to attend this writer’s conference to hone my skills, why did You let the car break down so I’d have to spend three hundred dollars on repairs?

God’s movement may appear slow, but He’s always right on time. If we could see the future and His entire plan for us, we wouldn’t think He was sluggish at all. But we can’t. We must trust He’s moving along at the speed He is for a good reason—perhaps to prepare us as He was Moses, maybe to give Himself time to orient world or local events, or maybe to bring someone else to where He needs them to be.

We can know God’s mind or always understand His speed. But He never exceeds the limit or goes slower than necessary. Trust the speed with which God is moving you along.

Father, increase my faith so I’ll trust completely the speed at which You are moving.

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Stopping for Directions - Martin Wiles

Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. Psalm 143:8 NLT

Stopping for directions sometimes took a great deal of courage.

In the days before GPS systems, smartphones, Google Maps, and Siri, finding an unfamiliar location could be challenging. Filling stations offered maps to travelers. Each state map had an inset of the largest cities and showed most of the downtown area’s street names.

But if a person sought county roads, they were out of luck. No 911 system existed. Country residents were assigned a route and box number—which typically weren’t displayed anywhere. Pity the mail person who had to remember who lived where. But at least they knew who their neighbors were.

Asking for directions before the technology boom was common—at least for women. I often sent my wife into a store or filling station for directions—but rarely did I go. Nor were other men likely to stop. Pride was my issue—and probably theirs. To enter a store and ask for directions was unmanly. I’ve been guilty of riding around for thirty minutes—wasting precious fuel in the process—rather than admitting I didn’t know how to get where I needed to go.

Although the psalmist had no wheels, he wasn’t afraid to admit he needed God’s direction. He often got lost on his journeys and knew only God could point him in the right direction. His motto was to trust the Lord with all your heart and let him guide his path.

Pride will cause us many missteps, and not getting directions from God is one of them. If I think I have it all figured out, I don’t need to consult God to see if I really do. But chances are I don’t and will find myself driving around in circles, making the same wrong turns.

Fear of what others think will also keep me driving when I should stop for directions. What will the convenience store owner think if I, a man, stop for directions? Really, who cares what they think? Some will always think I’m foolish to follow God’s will and pray about every detail of my life.

Rather than being foolish, stopping for directions is the smartest thing to do. It saves time and fuel. It also saves us from sinful detours and foolish decisions. Make sure you get your directions from God regularly.

Father, give me the courage to consult you on every life journey. 

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Too Fast, Too Furious - Martin Wiles

Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Psalm 37: 7 NLT

Despite his actions, I did what I always do.

Driving to the school where I teach takes about ten minutes. It would take less time, but around seven stoplights litter my path—and most of them usually catch me. One morning as I puttered along, I noticed a snazzy Range Rover behind me. It didn’t take long for the person who drove it to figure out they didn’t want to follow me, and they zoomed around.

I’ve been driving since I was fifteen and have never had a ticket. I’m not a slow driver—at least by the law’s standards—but I am by those who don’t enjoy going the speed limit, or five miles over. Which is my norm. The only time I’ve ever been stopped was when I had a pickup with oversized tires. They threw my speedometer off by five miles an hour. Fortunately, the nice highway patrolman understood and only gave me a warning. From then on, I adjusted my speed accordingly.

But back to the Range Rover. As it rocketed around me, I watched it speed off to the next stop light. As it waited for the light to turn green, I pulled up beside it and stopped. The tortoise and hare story came to mind. I wondered if the person in the Rover looked over and saw that the SUV they had shot around and left in the dust was sitting at the same light they were. Probably not. They were in a hurry, no doubt.

When the light turned green, they peeled off again. I proceeded in my normal manner. They came to the next light, which turned red just before they arrived. Once again, I pulled up beside them. I smiled to myself and again wondered whether they looked over to see who sat next to them. After the light changed, we repeated the same thing one more time. As I turned to go to my school, they sped off down the highway. They were too fast and too furious. I did what I do anytime I drive: obey the speed limit.

This isn’t the first time I’ve experienced such a scenario. I’ve learned fast cars don’t necessarily get you anywhere sooner if lights or stop signs abound. All the hurry-up does is burn more gas and take rubber off the tires. Getting in a hurry doesn’t mean we’ll accomplish more or even get somewhere sooner. In fact, if a policeman stops us for speeding, we might get there later than the person who obeys the speed limit.

But enough about driving. The psalmist didn’t have a car, and I doubt he could speed if he rode a camel or a donkey. Each of those animals seems to have a somewhat casual attitude toward moving along. The psalmist’s advice: be still and wait on God. Don’t worry about those who seem to plow ahead at breakneck speed or do evil things to get what we might desire.

Life has taught me that someone will always try to get ahead of me. Greed and selfishness drive them. People who think life is all about them and no one else are the ones the psalmist classifies as wicked. Maybe not to the degree they could be, but wicked nonetheless. But he gives good advice: don’t worry or fret about them. God has our back, not theirs.

Yet, the more important aspect is being still. Busyness often tempts us to get ahead—to speed—at other’s expense. To focus only on us, neglecting or not thinking about the needs of others. It also prevents us from hearing God’s Spirit—the person of the godhead who keeps us going at the right speed and in the right direction. The one who gives wisdom and direction. The one who keeps us from speeding from one light to the next and having to stop at each one in the process.

As bad as COVID-19 was, it forced many people to slow down. In certain fields, some had to speed up to help temper the spread, treat the sick, and produce needed supplies. But others slowed down and spent more time with friends and family—important things.

When we slow down . . . build silent times into our life’s schedule . . . we give ourselves an opportunity to hear God. And this is essential if we’re to proceed through life’s lights at the speed God wants us to travel. He has a path marked out—a path that includes a certain timing. If we peel out on our own and at our own speed, we’ll catch lights he doesn’t want us to, or we’ll arrive too late or too early. God’s plan not only includes the goal but also the steps involved to get there at the right time. The static of busyness keeps us from comprehending the plan.

Slowing down also builds our health so we can enjoy the plan—and the journey to the goal. Busyness often brings with it things that lead to poor health—such as not eating right, getting enough rest, or getting enough of the right exercise. No wonder the fast-food industry is spiking. Grabbing a takeout pizza proves much easier and faster than cooking a healthy meal at home. Although we often have no control over the schedules our employers encumber us with, we can possibly make the hard choice of choosing the employer during normal healthy economic times. Sometimes, lower pay is not a bad thing.

As we build downtime into our schedules, we have the opportunity to consider our priorities and revamp them if necessary. After all, we only have one life and a limited time to love and serve God, our families, and others.

If life has become too fast and too furious for you, stop and ask God for wisdom to revamp some things.

Father, when the hurry of life overwhelms me, show me how to slow down. 

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Mystified by God - Martin Wiles

"What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” John 3:4 NLT

My wife and I were both mystified.

“Where’s my key fob?” I asked her one day when I needed it to unlock her car.

“I don’t know. You had it last.”

Then came the mystery. Two weeks earlier, we had attended a teacher’s conference in Concord, North Carolina. I don’t usually carry the remote for her car because I rarely drive her car and because I detest the large bulk in my pocket. But this time, she wanted me to carry it—in case she lost hers.

I used my fob to drive to the conference, but when we arrived, I gave it to her. Where she put it—or where I put it—I couldn’t remember. I thought I had placed it in my backpack. The conference happened, and we returned home.

One week later, I needed the fob again, which wasn’t on my dresser where I usually kept it. That’s when I asked her where it was. I searched our suitcase. Nothing. I searched my backpack. Nothing. I looked in every pair of pants I had worn. Still nothing. I checked the case where we carried our toiletries. No dice. My wife swore she didn’t have it. She had given it back to me. Every few days, I’d look somewhere else—to no avail.

Another week passed, and my wife texted me a picture of two fobs sitting side by side. “Want to guess where I found it?” she asked.

I knew the answer—I had figured it all along but hadn’t said anything to avoid an argument. “Your pocketbook?”

Her pocketbook is so large she could hide the kitchen sink in it, but I wasn’t going to ask her to look. In searching for something else, she had solved the mystery.

Nicodemus was mystified for another reason. Jesus told him he needed to be born again. He couldn’t understand how a person could reenter their mother’s womb and do that. Jesus, of course, had a spiritual concept in mind.

The Bible shares the results of our being born again: forgiveness, acceptance into God’s family, abundant living. But the process is a mystery. 

How exactly God does all this remains mysterious. How He changes our natures. How He gives us new desires. How we suddenly want to obey Him rather than disobey Him. How we find ourselves aching inside when we do or say something wrong.

This mystery will remain until perhaps God explains it in eternity. But, in the meantime, we can enjoy the results of experiencing it—and invite others to share it also.

Learn to be mystified by God by enjoying the fruits of the mysterious new birth.

Prayer: Father, though mystified, we praise You for performing Your new births. 

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A Way Back - Martin Wiles

Then Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had blessed his people in Judah by giving them good crops again. So Naomi and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab to return to her homeland. Ruth 1:6 NLT

Getting there proved easy. Getting back was the problem. And there could be anywhere or nowhere in particular.

My wife calls me directionally challenged, and I have been long before she came along. As a youngster hunting in the woods or fishing on the lake with my grandmother, I would travel to a particular area to hunt or fish, but when it came time to return home, the woods and the lake looked awful unfamiliar. I’ve been known to put notches in trees or sprinkle powder on the ground just to make sure I didn’t get lost.

When I started driving, things didn’t change. Dad taught me to read a map (almost a lost art in today’s world of technological marvels), so getting from point A to point B didn’t challenge me. Getting from Point B back to Point A did. When I thought I needed to turn left, my wife would tell me to turn right.

Occasionally, I’d argue my point (no pun intended), and she would say, “Well, go that way if you want to, but we’ll end up in ______.” Of course, she was right, but I still had to find out for myself. Eventually, I just let her drive. I knew a way back existed; I just wasn’t proficient at getting there.

Naomi needed a way back—the right way. She, her husband, and two sons had left the land of Israel because of a famine. While in the land of Moab, Naomi’s husband and two sons died, but she had gained two daughters-in-law. When she heard the famine had ended, she returned to her homeland. And God provided the way for her to do so.

Getting off track geographically is one thing; getting off track spiritually brings greater ruin. Fortunately, God provides a way back. When I chose to live in sin, God provided the ways of repentance and confession, which brought me back to a right relationship with Him. When I made poor choices that took me down paths God didn’t want me to travel, He gave guidance through His Spirit to get me back to where He wanted me to be.

Jesus mentioned an unpardonable sin, but the circumstances surrounding His statement don’t exist today. Unbelief is the only thing God can’t and won’t pardon. With anything else, He provides a way back if we’ll seek it and ask for it.

No matter how far you’ve gone in the wrong direction, God will show you the way back. Just ask.

Prayer: Father, we thank You for always providing a way back when we have strayed.

Tell us how you've gotten over wrong life turns. 

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Seeing at Dusk - Martin Wiles

We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help. 2 Chronicles 20:12b NLT

When the lights go down, the blurries go up.

As I have aged, my already less-than-perfect eyes have gotten worse. Battling near-sightedness, far-sightedness, and potential glaucoma at the same time is no fun. And it’s especially painful if I’m driving at dusk. The lights from other cars fuzz up and run together. Their intensity seems to magnify, making it difficult for me to tell how many cars it is as well as how far away they are. When possible, I avoid driving at dusk, letting my wife drive instead.

What I know well while driving during the daylight hours, I don’t know so well if I drive during dusk or at night.

Kind Jehoshaphat didn’t know some things either—he couldn’t see well—and it worried him. A vast army from the area of Edom marched against him. The news terrified him so much so that he fasted and ordered the people to also. He prayed and sought guidance from God, while acknowledging he couldn’t see what was about to happen.

Unlike a few people I’ve met along life’s journey, I willingly admit I don’t know it all. I tell my students this, but at the same time offer to find out what I don’t know. Thinking I know it all—even when deep inside I know I don’t—only leads to pride and displays that same trait to others. This turns off relationships.

Nor would I want to know it all. I’d be frightened by what’s ahead. I’d worry and fear. Anxiety would consume me. I’d probably make plans to face whatever was coming.

Fortunately, I know the One who does know it all. He won’t tell me, but He will give me the faith to trust Him, as Jehoshaphat did. Through ignorance of the future, my faith and trust in God grow. I learn to walk by faith, not sight. As I trust God to guide me when I’m driving at dusk, so I trust Him to lead me through life. And He won’t disappoint me.

When you can’t see what’s ahead—or don’t know what to do when you do see it—trust the all-wise God.

Prayer: Father, we admit our weaknesses and turn to You for guidance.

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Take a Slow Ride - Martin Wiles

But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. Luke 10:40 NLT

Rarely did the speedometer register over twenty-five miles per hour.

As long as I knew him, my maternal grandfather never got in a hurry. He didn’t have to punch a time clock—he was a farmer. But he did have somewhat of a schedule. He got up at five every morning, dressed, drank a cup of instant coffee, and went to the wrap-around porch. There, he sat in a chair, smoked cigarettes, and waited for the sun to rise over the pines that bordered his farmland.

By this time, my grandmother had breakfast. After eating, he might do a little plowing, ride over to another farm he owned and check the crops, check his fence rows to make sure no hogs had rooted out … or drive two miles to town to Bert Sweat’s store where he and other farmers would gather for a Pepsi or Coke and a pack of Nabs.

Regardless of where my grandfather went, he took a slow ride in his pickup, and my cousin and I loved to ride with him. If we weren’t sitting on the edge of the bed, we were standing up behind the cab, letting the wind blow in our faces. But our favorite thing to do was sit on the tailgate and drag our feet on the asphalt as my grandfather puttered along.

I think of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus when I think of those slow rides. Good friends of Jesus who often had him over for a meal or just fellowship. On this occasion, Martha busied herself preparing a meal. Mary, though, took a slow ride, which caused her sister to complain to Jesus. And He set the matter straight. Mary’s slow ride was more beneficial than the fast-paced life Martha lived.

In our busy world filled with employers who want countless hours from us, with any number of people wanting our time, talents, and money, and with countless forms of entertainment—compounded by technology’s advances, slowing down isn’t easy. In fact, it won’t happen unless we make the effort.

My cousin and I could have easily found something else to busy ourselves with, but we chose the slow ride. And those lazy days around the farm have helped me understand the necessity of taking slow rides in life.

So, go ahead and take a slow ride. You won’t regret it, your family will appreciate it, and your health will benefit.

Prayer: Father, help us to slow down so that we can enjoy life and find time for those things that are most important.

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More Time Lost Than Found - Martin Wiles

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” John 3:3 NLT

The trip was less than three hours one way, but it took longer than it should have.

Tragedy struck our family during the Thanksgiving holidays. A first cousin was playing golf with his only son the day after celebrating Thanksgiving with his family when he suddenly fell over and died. Nothing his son, through CPR, or the medics did could save him.

His younger brother called to say the family wanted me to conduct the services. I had conducted the funerals for their mom and dad. I agreed. Mom and my wife would sing at the funeral.

We loaded up our gang in two cars. Mom and my step-dad are getting up in age and having trouble negotiating the highways, but, since they were following us, we wondered what could happen. We soon found out.

Mom stopped in a town one mile from the funeral home to get a pair of socks. The ones she had on didn’t match her pants. We went on to the funeral home. Shortly after arriving, Mom called. “We took a wrong turn. I don’t know where we are. Can you please help us?”

A fifteen-minute conversation with my cousin finally led them to the funeral home. They had gone thirty minutes out of the way. On our way home, they got lost again when they got in the wrong lane to get on the interstate. This led to another out-of-way experience that cost them more time.

Nicodemus spent a large amount of time lost as well. I don’t know his age when he approached Jesus, but he was a religious leader who thought he had all the answers about how to connect to God. He was wrong. Jesus told him he had to be born again—not just meticulously obey the letter of God’s law, as he had assumed.

Vain pursuits in life can cost huge amounts of time. Time wasted. We don’t end up where we thought we would, or we don’t enjoy where we end up when we get there. Bad choices. Ones that take us places we never should have gone and keep us there much longer than we want—or should—stay.

Getting found entails being in a relationship with God through Christ and spending our time doing only what God plans for us to do. Anything else wastes our time and places us in a lost condition.

If you’re feeling lost, consult the only One who knows where you should be heading.

Prayer: Father, remind us that You always know where we are.

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