If the water’s flowing the wrong direction then maybe you’re not where you thought you were. And if you’re not where you thought you were, where are you?
I often walk down a rocky creek that meanders through a narrow valley toward the river. Other small creeks come down through the hollows to join up with it. I sometimes approach the main creek, Bear Creek, from different directions to vary my hike. One day as I walked down a creek that joins up with Bear Creek on its journey to the river, I came across a creek with a lot of water.
Something about it didn’t look exactly right. But I hadn’t been to the creek all winter and sometimes heavy rains flood the creek and freezes shift the rocks and trees to change the landscape. In my hikes in the valley, I had never come across any other creek with that much water. It had to be Bear Creek, I told myself. There was just one problem. The water was flowing the wrong direction.
If I was following the main creek, I should be walking down creek, but here the water was flowing toward me. I continued up the creek a little way. Surely I would come out in familiar terrain, but things kept looking more and more different and I began climbing. I felt as if my head was in a spin, as though someone had dropped me down in a land I didn’t know. Everything was twisted and turned backwards.
Finally my commonsense surfaced. If the water’s flowing the wrong direction, then you must be following the wrong creek. I backtracked to the beginning point and followed the creek on down the valley till it came out on the main creek I know so well. Of course I should have known at once that barring an earthquake or some other cataclysmic event, creeks don’t reverse their flow. The rules of nature are steady and true. Water flows downhill. And if the water’s flowing the wrong way, you’re in the wrong creek.
Sometimes as Christians, we get in the “wrong creek” spiritually. We start trusting our own flawed sense of direction instead of relying on the Lord to show us the way. God and the rules of nature don’t change. We can depend on that truth in our lives.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 (NKJ)
Have you ever felt as though you were going the wrong direction? Maybe up a wrong creek?
Comments 4
I’ve followed a spiritual wrong creek many a time. But I’m thankful for that still small voice that always leads me back. I read a quote once that I try to adhere to when I need guidance… “Make prayer your steering wheel, not your spare tire.”
There’s plenty of times, however that I don’t pray first. I’m thankful for His forgiveness and mercy then!
Good devotion, Ann. I read it days ago, but got interrupted before sending the comment. I hope you’re enjoying the nice weather before rain moves in again this week. The creeks will surely be up by the weekend. 🙂
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Thanks for your thoughts here, Lavon. Love the saying to let prayer be your steering wheel and not your spare tire. I’ll have to use that in our church’s bulletin. We all believe in prayer but sometimes we don’t act as though we do.
I have enjoyed the last couple of days with the sunshine and the temperatures not so hot. My son and his girls came out last night and planted garden. We let them use the garden plot now since we no longer need such a big garden. Maybe I’ll blog about that sometime.
OH yes, I have felt I was going the wrong direction. I am thankful to be able to pray and ask God for direction. 🙂
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That should always be our first move, but I’m sure you’ve heard and I’m sure I’ve said at times that the only thing left to do is pray when that should have been the first thing to do. Thanks for your comment, Melissa.