Follow Me
Have you ever followed anyone to a place you have never gone? You might be excited or a little fearful. But you stay very close to the one you are following. This morning Steve and I went on a run through a new area of our neighborhood here in Addis. I had to keep up because I wasn’t sure which way we were going. I had to completely trust him. We turned down a street to avoid a pack of dogs and ran down a steep cobblestone-covered hill only to turn and then climb up the steepest hill. The kind of hill where you are almost stepping up as you walk. I had to stop running because the altitude makes breathing difficult (and I have gotten out of shape). Steve slowed down until I could catch up. Then we turned a corner and ran single file down a busy street. We jumped over puddles, avoiding rocks, cars, and people. I am trying to step exactly where Steve steps. It was so congested and people were everywhere. Some were cheering at us, others just staring. It was so fun. We found a new bakery. I saw a girl blowing on her fire to cook, a man sweeping away the puddled water, and a man carrying a crazy amount of bags on his head. Another man started running right next to me. There was a slight chill in the air.
I couldn’t help thinking about how following Steve I had to trust him to enjoy this run. I had to know that he was going to lead in a way that we needed to go. I did get tired and wanted to stop running, but I had to keep going to stay with him. What a parallel to my spiritual adventure. Jesus calls us to follow him. We are called to trust Him. There are times when it is hard to keep going. It is scary not knowing where He is leading. But I trust the one I follow. I am so thankful for a husband who follows Jesus. Following Jesus takes us on routes that are new, and I find myself having to work hard and convince myself to keep going. I had never been to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia when we moved here. When Jesus called the disciples he just said Follow Me. He didn’t say where he was going. They didn’t ask. They trusted Jesus. They wanted to be with Him. In Mark 1:17 I wonder if they understood what Jesus meant by becoming fishers of men. Or they just were so excited after seeing all the fish they caught. They gave up everything to be with Him. Matthew left his tax collecting job to follow Him. They had to trust Him. Because He is trustworthy. He is steadfast.
I have been reading Charles Spurgeon’s Following Christ. It is so great and full of wisdom. In Chapter 1 he says, “If you simply walk behind your Master, following His footsteps and truly being His people, you will do what pleases Him…” He says in Chapter 2 “ It is often an imposing thing to get into deep water so as to be forced to swim, as we like to keep our feet touching the sand. What mercy it is to feel that you cannot do anything, for then you must trust in God and God alone, believing He is quite equal to any emergency.”
Following can be hard to do but it is less stressful and easier when you trust the one you follow. We can trust following Jesus, even we don't know where He is leading.