I wish I could say that as I have walked with God for the past forty-seven years, I have had a detailed blueprint of everything.  Why can’t God be like the old Mission Impossible program, where a recording is played, saying, “Here is what your assignment is today!”   Actually, even better, I want the cruise itinerary that is left on your bed each night.  The brochure tells you where you will be each hour, and what you can do in that hour.  “C’mon, God! That would be quite helpful.”

Psalm 119 contains a very famous verse, which you may have heard before. Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path”.  That verse gives us a lot more knowledge than we might think.

Today we have powerful lights that shine for a great distance.  My neighborhood has many street lights, and I can stand in my front yard and see a long way down the street.   In Biblical days, lanterns, candles and torches were used; therefore, only a short distance at a time had light.  But, with each step taken, there was light for more steps.   There was no seeing the entire path, just the step needed at the moment.

Joseph, our precious grandson who is on the autism spectrum, is a great example of this.   Joseph just stayed with us for a couple of days.  There were several times, that Joseph caught my eye, and my mind would go back to life two years ago.  The progress we have seen in this little boy is wonderful, but the progress came through small steps.  At times very small, time-consuming, laborious steps.   All these small steps have changed Joseph so much – one victory at a time!  And believe me, we celebrate EVERY little victory, and those little victories are now adding up to big victories – one step at a time.

Like most of you, I want God to reveal His whole, “big” plan to me TODAY!  How will I get there?  Where will I be in six months?  What is my five-year plan?  The truth is, my walk with God has been steps at a time, often small steps.  I look back on the forty-seven years of steps, and I realize that I am miles down the road with God!

In a time when we want instant miracles (which He certainly does at times), everything done after one minute of praying and no waiting, we have to stand on the Bible, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, and a light on my path.”

Just take a step.

“The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night.”  (Exodus 13:21).

Maybe it’s my age.  Maybe it’s not being able to turn my mind away from all the things I must do before leaving for Ecuador.  Whatever it is – I hate when it shows up!  Insomnia!   I commanded my body to sleep.  I claimed sleep.  I rebuked lack of sleep.  I even rebuked my husband who dared to sleep!

Alas, I got up and went to the living room, and dropped on the sofa.  Sleep still stayed as far away as possible, so I decided to turn on the television to see if it would put me to sleep.  (Yes, I know I could pray and read, but I wanted to veg out!)

There is little that I care to watch, but I saw “The Match Game” was an option.  I remember as a child watching the “The Match Game,” so I thought I would check it out.   Let me speak in the Amplified Version:  I was shocked, appalled, disturbed, astonished, and stunned!

This one-hour game show would have been “R” rated when I was a child.  The filth that was so funny and acceptable to everyone, was distressing to me.   At first, as a nation, we slowly walked to  the edge, and now it seems we are in full-blown free fall in accepting the unacceptable.

Am I here to bash the USA?  NEVER!  I love this country.  I lead a daily prayer group of about two hundred and fifty people, and our sole purpose is to pray for the United States of America.  I still get tears in my eyes when I see Olympians from the USA win a medal, and stand on a podium while The Star Spangled Banner is played.  I cry when I see vets come home to reunite with their loved ones.   I love this country.

It is also true that, as a nation, we have gone in directions that God never intended, and we are paying the price.  Let’s not beat the obvious problem to death.  What is the answer?

God’s people are the answer.

When Our Lord, Jesus Christ, came to this earth, He didn’t start  a club.  He started the Church.  Oh, I know, it technically was birthed on the day of Pentecost, but without Jesus, there would be no Church.  Jesus began changing people, who began changing their world.

Jesus said it this way, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18).   Jesus declared that He was building a Church, strong enough to have victory over death, hell and the grave.

If you have accepted Christ as Savior, you are part of the Church, the called out ones. Jesus, in essence, said, “I am going to change the lives of people, and build my Church (the called out) with them, and they will be called out and different from the culture.   It will be a Church that can stand against all that hell represents.”

What if the Church became the Church that Jesus described?  What if I became the Christian Jesus described?  If we stopped blending in with the culture, and become those Christians, what difference would it make in the Church?  And, if the Church began to walk closely with God, what difference would it make in the city … the state … the nation?

God said this is how a nation is healed: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV).

If we want to see our land healed, God says that it starts with His people.  The hope for America is God, and God works through His Church.