Is Your Trajectory Off?

A few weeks ago, we pulled up to a church, I got out of the car, and started to walk across the parking lot with my eyes on the side entrance.  It is a smaller glass door, but as I started walking, I noticed that I was not headed in that direction.  I thought, “That’s weird…”   Instead of making a diagonal line to the door, I was walking in a straight line and headed for the brick wall of the church.  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t straighten out my path.  Try as I might, I could not reach the door.  It was like I was off balance or something.  I was half way across the driveway and way off target.  I knew now that I would never be able to change my course enough to make a shot for that doorway.  I am still thinking, “This is really strange…what’s the matter with me?”

I slowed my steps but kept walking.  I finally ran into the brick wall of the building…literally.  Well, I am hoping nobody is watching at this point.  No telling what they would think.  My feet were in the bushes and I was walking on the stones that were the landscaping around the building.  I kept my hand on the brick wall and fought my way to the door.  If I were watching me, I would have been wondering…

Once inside the building, I asked the Lord, “What was all that about?”  He started to explain to me that there are many people who think they are walking towards the door of eternal life, but their trajectory is off.  Trajectory?  It means the path or direction something takes with a force behind it.  Like a bullet shot out of a rifle, or a rocket fired.  Sometimes, with the force of life behind us,  we have to run into a brick wall before we can stop and come to our senses.  It will be a fight.  But”… narrow is the door to God’s Kingdom, and broad is the way to destruction.” It’s worth the effort.

As I thought about that, I understood that so many of us are being propelled by the busyness of this world. We have our eyes are on the Kingdom of God, and think we are daily walking towards that narrow gate that opens into it.  But in reality, we are off course just enough to miss that narrow opening that brings into His kingdom. The Lord will allow us to run into that “brick wall” to get our attention while we still can find our way to Him.  And then, we have to fight through the many worries, lusts and seductions of the world, that choke the word and makes it unfruitful in our lives.  (Matt. 13:23).

Fight the good fight of faith…..and ask yourself:

Is my trajectory off?