Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Yesterday, while standing in line at the bank, I struck up a conversation with a soldier.

During our talk, he told me he was a paratrooper. Impressed because I have a deep respect for heights, I asked him how many times he had jumped.

With a smile, he responded, “Pastor, I’ve never jumped. Not even once. But I can tell you I’ve been pushed more than 40 times.”

Later on, I thought this fellow has given me a pretty good explanation of life.

Left to ourselves, most of us would be content to stay right where we are. Scientifically speaking, “We, objects of rest, tend to stay at rest.”

Of course, there are people who have made it their lives’ work to give us a shove.

· Moms gave us a shove when they taught us manners and housebroke us.

· Teachers pushed us when helping us learn.

· Coaches drove us to improve our athletic skills.

· Employers motivated us to increase sales and production.

· Everybody is pushing, including the Lord.

Now before you get upset with God’s pushing, remember He is the one who made you. He is the one who sent His only Son to save you from your sins; He is the one who has continued to love us when we were, quite frankly, unlovable.

If anyone has the right to push us, it’s God.

There’s a wonderful thing about God’s pushing; it is always and absolutely for our good.

To paraphrase the army: He wants us to be all that we can be.

So, if today you feel a heavenly shove from behind, don’t fight it or get angry. It just may be God giving you a push for your own good.

From a devotion originally written for “By the Way”

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, through Your Son’s sacrifice I am saved. Because You have done so much for me, I will trust Your nudges and pushes, even when I don’t understand them or appreciate them. To that end, I pray, Your will be done. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Pastor Ken Klaus Lutheran Hour Ministries http://www.lhm.org/ all rights reserved; not to be duplicated without permission.