I was told that this devotional could be about anything, so I decided to borrow a subject of interest to me from funny man John Cleese… with a twist. Thermo Nuclear Weapons.
This Thermo Nuclear Weapon, the guided missile, is designed to launch from one point, and hit a target at another point. This is done with a guidance system installed in the missile that has the coordinates of the target in its programming. During the missile’s flight it will constantly deviate from its path, and sends out signals along the way to get advice on what corrections need to be made, and ultimately after a flight of constant mistakes and corrections hits it’s predestined target.
In much the same way, our guidance system has been programmed by God before we were even born, and fully activated at our birth. The programming will at the end of our flight take us safely home to our Father. All of the hardware is intact and the initial program written, and then there seems to be some space on the hard drive for some user programs to be written.
Fortunately for me, as may be for most of us, my first programs were written by my parents and my grandparents, with other early programs written in my church youth groups and other by early Christian friends. I think that all of this early programming gets permanently written and may never get erased. It just might be our safety net. Fortunately for me, this was the case.
During my flight, right out of high school, my path took me through ten years on the road with two different Rock-n-Roll bands as sound technician and stage manager. This of course caused much worry for my parents. While on the road, it became obvious to me that when I sent signals out to check the path to my target, the advice to make corrections would come from the people around me. I lived and worked in the night club scene, so the people that were in my life were not always giving me the best advice and direction. It was during these times that I had to pull strength from my early programming to try to keep on the right path, though I was not always successful.
When I was able, I would try to attend a church service. That unfortunately could not happen very often. I use to think that I could be a good Christian without attending a church or having a church family. It was during these darker years on the road that I realized that if I was to stay on the right path, I had to be careful of where I was sending my signal and from whom I was seeking advice. My colleagues and peers guidance conflicted with my early programming.
After ten years of struggles, my life was changed by changing careers and meeting a wonderful woman, who became my wife. I became involved in church again, and although my flight is still full of mistakes, I have faith that I will hit my pre-destined target with my Father in Heaven.
It is so important for us all to keep ourselves surrounded by people who can and will make positive influences on our lives, and to reach out to those whose path is being altered by negative influences. Life without these friends and my church would be much more difficult.
Prayer – Father, help us to understand that we have been yours even before we were born. We know Father that you accept us and love us no matter what mistakes we have made in our life, or how far away we may have strayed. Surround us Lord with people that will help us in our journey, and remind us Lord that you will bring us safely home, evens seconds before impact, if we just reach out for your hand. - Amen
