Wait for the Command

This is commencement week in many schools here in New York. My second grandson, Sam, is graduating from high school this year. Graduates will be looking for jobs and direction concerning college. God has promised to direct us if we will keep our eyes on Him.

But how do we do that?

When my husband was a boy, his father, an officer in the United States Air Force, was sent to Greece as an adviser to the Greek military. The entire family accompanied him on that tour of duty.

Greece was somewhat unsettled politically in the early fifties. For protection, the family obtained a German shepherd puppy to train as a guard dog. They named him Aristides. Since people who might want to harm the family might try to poison Aristides, the dog was trained to eat only at their command.

Bob's dad would place the canned dog food in Aristides' dish. The dog would sit with his eyes fixed on his owner. His lips would twitch with anticipation, but his eyes didn't waver from his master's as he waited, muscles tensed, for the command to eat. Because of his training, he didn't leap forward to gulp his food until Pop gave the word of release.

Psalm 123 reminds us that in the same way we should look to the Lord for direction and guidance. "We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master...for the slightest signal" (Psalm 123:2, NLT).

In our busy lives, how easy it is to forget to rely on God for guidance. We are often in such a hurry to solve all our problems, to get things done, and even to do things for God, that it is easy to neglect to wait for God's Word.

Graduates, keep your eyes on God. He will direct your paths. It may be with clear cut directions, or it may be with a quiet confidence that this is the way for you to go.

Even when graduations are long behind us, we still need to look to God for daily direction through prayer and the Word. If we rush into action first, using all our energy, we'll end up wondering why we become entangled in frustration.