I recently read a story about a group of genuinely committed lovers of God, who pledged to be dedicated disciples of The Lord Jesus. Their desire and commitment were admirable, but in that desire to hold on to the approval of others in their group, and in order to uphold tradition, they ended up simply following one another. They were men and women..followers of Christ..who walked in a circle..each person following the person in front of them. They moved. They had the desire to truly know Jesus...but they went nowhere. Hebrews 6:12 says that we should "follow those who by faith and patience inherit the promises."
Some of us unfortunately, have seemed to follow that same path. We have followed the person in front of us..maybe a friend..maybe a leader..and now we find ourselves in darkness. We want to trust and believe that The Lord can lead us personally..but we seem to be clinging tightly to the person in front of us. We may even find that we have been hurt in some way by some of the things we have been instructed in..but we continue to hold tightly. We may have momentary bits of time where we have heard that voice..that precious voice..deep in our spirit..and we know Whose voice it is..but we choose instead to keep following the person in front of us. After all, they have only misdirected us a couple of times. We feel secure in this place of following. As Jesus said, we are "like sheep without a shepherd"..or "if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a ditch".
When we look to people, instead of looking to God..who is the only Source of strength, direction, and hope ..we can wind up being terribly mislead. The life that we were originally excited about in Christ, can actually become one of confusion and uncertainty. We begin to not trust ourselves. Even worse, we begin to lose trust in Jesus. We question Him. We question His word. We question ourselves. We WANT to question the person walking in front of us...but we wouldn't dare.
We have been made righteous by the blood of Christ beloved brothers and sisters... 2Cor.5:21.
An exchange has been made..our sin for His righteousness...and when we begin to realize this wonderful truth, we can begin to walk on our own. We can begin to take steps in faith, knowing that His sheep hear His voice..and we follow Him! He becomes our leader! We now walk in confidence. We now walk with a boldness that we have never experienced before. We are stable with an unshakable foundation!
My question to you today is simply...Who are you following...and why? Do the people in your life help you to have a better understanding of who you are in Christ? Do they encourage you in your walk with God? Do they help you to see that you're an overcomer? Do they help you to know and believe that you are deeply loved, and that all of the promises of God apply to you? Or are you walking in a circle beloved? Are you following the person in front of you simply because that is what you have done for a long time and it's become familiar? Have you chosen to follow Jesus...your Righteousness? Maybe it's time to get out of the circle. Your Shepherd is calling you. He is calling you to follow Him, and Him alone. You will never regret simply following Christ!