WF Pride
Excel in Communication
Chad Cottingham
We recently had an opportunity to go camping with a large group of friends – tent camping for most of the group. Now I’ve done my share of tent camping, and it’s not all that fun sleeping on the ground. So when I heard this campground had cabins, with real beds, I jumped all over it. The remaining party had tents and I pitched in to help set up – it’s the least I could do since I was in a cabin. As Ryan and I struggled to get his tent set up, he remarked, “It has directions included, but who needs directions?” As he looked at the picture on the box, I couldn’t help but laugh to myself. How many times had I done the exact same thing? It seemed like most things I’d ever put together had extra parts, or not enough of the right parts. After a while, my wife would consider it normal – me yelling at some silly gadget that didn’t quite look right. How frustrating!
Directions, as simple or complex as they may be, communicate valuable information to us and are meant for our good. They are there to assist us and make a job or task easier. But we often don’t read them, or only look at the picture on the box for pointers. And the results are usually not very good. It’s very similar to following God’s instructions found in the scriptures.
The bible is God’s written direction for our lives. And like putting together a tent or a toy, I often find myself not reading God’s direction for my life as often as I should. As a result, situations are usually harder, more challenging and don’t go anything like I had hoped. I am reminded of my need to turn to God’s word. It’s powerful and relevant to every obstacle life throws at us. The following verse from 2 Timothy 3:16 reminds me of this truth: All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.
“Dear Lord and Heavenly Father, thank you for the bible. Help us to read and follow Your ‘directions’ that are clearly laid out for us. Forgive us for being stubborn and prideful, attempting to do life on our own. We need You in our lives each and every day. Help us to set aside time to read Your word daily. It’s in Jesus name I pray, Amen.”