by Pastor Mark Jordan
“I always put the Lord in front of me; I will not stumble because he is on my right side.” (Psalm 16:8)
Today’s great verse is a great descriptor of discipleship. We hear Jesus’ invitation to follow, and we do…or at least we strive to. So we experience the first part of discipleship, which is to follow the Lord. Then, something magnificent happens — as we follow the Lord, we aren’t always walking behind Him, because He comes to walk beside us, steadying and supporting us on our life journey with Him and others. Check out this gem from 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (MSG)…
All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.
Let’s thank God for His invitation to follow Him, and resting in the knowledge that He is right there beside us, too. Let’s also thank Him that we do not have to go through this life alone, because He connects us with others, enabling us to know we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for loving me. I choose to follow you, and thank you for walking alongside me to help me keep my footing. I praise you in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.