Broken Shoelaces

I recently read a story written by John VandenOever.  He tells about giving his small daughter her first kite. He was so anxious to show her how to run with it until the wind caught it and carried it high.  The first attempts were thwarted because of her inability to understand what needed to happen. Finally, with her father running along with her, the kite soared upward.  Suddenly, his daughter looked down. She saw her shoelace was untied and began to cry.  As he puts it, “The triumph in the sky had been swallowed up by a loose shoe lace. Such is the life in Christ. Ours is a story written from before time, a promised inheritance hidden in Christ, a future where God ‘makes everything work out according to His plan’ (Eph. 1:11 NLT) and we let the spiritual equivalent of loose shoelaces be our undoing.”  As long as his daughter was keeping her eyes on the kite and allowing her father to run along beside her, everything was fine.  But, once her mind was taken off the things above, everything went wrong.

What is your undoing?  Do you let the things of this earth take your eyes off your Heavenly Father and the plans He has for your life?  Do you feel you can do things better your way and don’t need the Father to run along beside you? I’m reminded of the story in the bible of the children of Abraham being led from Egypt to the Promised Land.  This comparatively short journey that should have taken them only a few months ended up taking them 40 years. Why?  Because they took their eyes off of God and His promise and looked at their broken shoelaces. They grumbled and questioned why their journey was taking so long.  They wondered why they weren’t enjoying the journey; why there were hardships along the way.

“They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!’ Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. “Numbers 21:4-6 NIV

They had taken their eyes off of the land that God had promised them and in the end, most of those who started out on that journey never got to see the Promised Land.

What might God do to get your attention when you take your eyes off of Him? What will you miss out on because you fail to keep your eyes on God?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV