The Wrong Turn

From: "Illustrator" <webmaster@PROTECTED>

Date: November 23rd 2011

Welcome to the Illustrator

Today's Bible Verse:

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess 5:16-18)

The Wrong Turn

30 minutes in Iceland, and we were already lost. The map showed that a quick jaunt down road 410 would connect us to Highway 1 without us having to drive into Reykjavik. This sounded like a good plan to us, so we dutifully turned off onto Road 410. But the narrow dirt road we soon found ourselves on couldn't be right! Especially when we saw the chain link fence up ahead that crossed our narrow dirt road!

And this set the standard for the rest of the trip. We got lost so many times that our boys took to keeping track of how many times we got lost. They were more than happy to point out our "record" of getting lost was 5 times on our way to the same destination! I think we may now be famous in Iceland as the tourists who spent the most time stopping unsuspecting pedestrians to ask for directions! Good thing most people in Iceland speak very good English!

But in all reality, getting lost wasn't all that bad. That narrow dirt road that we thought was road 410 was truly fascinating. Its cliff outcroppings were out-of-this-world, moonlike in every aspect. We passed dozens of stables with beautiful Icelandic horses, and we even encountered the remains of a house in desertic surroundings. It truly was a hiker's heaven, and although we had lost some precious time, we were glad for this mishap and thanked the Lord for showing us some aspects of Iceland we would have otherwise missed.

Wrong turns can be learning experiences. Time is not everything, but enjoying the presence of God is. How often don't we miss blessings because we are so focused on trivial things, such as time? If we are open to the leading of God's Spirit, we will never stop enjoying the blessings God bestows upon us, and our hearts will be filled with blessed thankfulness.

Did you know that this is God's will for each one of us? Check out this Bible text: "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess 5:16-18 NIV)

For some reason we have wandered away from the term "thankfulness". More often than not we consider time our enemy, and there is just no time left over to be thankful. How sad!

Our attitude also has a great impact on those around us.

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." (2 Cor 2:14-15 NIV)

Do we even realize that we are emitting an "aroma"?

Some of us are putrid, if you know what I mean. It's like we are competing with skunks. There is no way people like to hang around us! Others don't smell like anything, really, and people have no idea what to make of them. Then there are those whose focus is on Jesus. These are the ones who are constantly thankful for anything that happens in their lives, either good or bad. They are the ones who carry "the aroma of Christ", which attracts people who are in desperate need.

In all reality, even amidst adversity we have reason to be thankful. Even in these circumstances God never leaves us, sustaining us every step of the way. It's in these times that we learn even more about trusting God and having Him as a forever Friend.

Now, how will you spend your Thanksgiving Day? Will time be an issue? What kind of aroma will you be spreading?

"Hey, we're lost again! I can't wait to see what God has up His sleeve!

Have a terrific Thanksgiving filled with plenty of "thank yous"!

Rob Chaffart

Announcements:

To our American subscribers: Enjoy Thanksgiving tomorrow. We have so much to thank God for. Halelujah!

In His love,

Rob Chaffart add@PROTECTED

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