One of the questions I pose to leaders is a good question to ask yourself. Imagine you are going from Houston to Jacksonville, Florida on Interstate 10. After a day of driving, you end up in El Paso, Texas, what would you do? Would you turn around and head back toward Houston or keep driving and reevaluate in Phoenix, Arizona? The correct answer is easy in this scenario, but in real life, we tend to keep going toward Phoenix. We rationalize that decision because of how much time, money and effort we’ve put into it. However, no amount of time, money or effort is going to get you to your destination until you change course.
In Luke 19, Jesus was walking through Jericho and everyone crowded the roads trying to see him. Zacchaeus, who had become rich by overtaxing people, wanted to see Him too. He climbed up a tree and Jesus saw him. Jesus then went to his house for dinner. People were upset that Jesus was hanging out with a despised sinner. Then in verse 8 we read, “Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!’” (NLT) Jesus saw that Zacchaeus had changed direction and said, “Salvation has come to this home today.”
Psalm 119:59 says, “I considered my ways And turned my feet to [follow and obey] Your testimonies” (AMP). Take a look at your life. Each of us need to consider our ways often. Are we headed the wrong direction in certain areas of our life? Are we like Jonah and going the opposite direction from what God called us to? We need to be willing to turn our feet to follow and obey God’s ways. Like Zacchaeus we need to repent, which means to change directions. God’s blessings follow our obedience. It’s not always easy to admit we need a change of direction, but we can’t afford to keep going the wrong way. There’s too much at stake.
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 