Katrina Update 11: Foolishness

And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing;everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35:8-10)

I read this passage this morning and found great comfort in it…”even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.”

This week, I’ve been feeling some of the effects of being out of fellowship. Since my church is still underwater and its membership is scattered to the four winds, I am missing out on the accountability that was such a huge part of my daily life. Also, because of the craziness of life these days, my time with the Lord is not what it was prior to Katrina…and I am feeling that too. As a result, I have made some foolish choices and my weakness has been exploited. At first, I ate “off plan” out of necessity. But then, I took a bite or two of things I haven’t even looked at in a year just because they were there. Still, I didn’t have more than a bite or two and I didn’t feel conviction as I wasn’t being a glutton. But a door had been opened and then the temptation came…and then I did eat a bit more than I needed to…and once or twice my reason for eating something I shouldn’t have was “not relying on Atkins to do this for me.” It was a desperate justification.

I have not eaten like I used to eat…but I have not made wise choices either. I know my “freedom” made way for temptation. I was reminded of something I blogged about a couple of months ago.

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Hebrews 12:3-4)

Then I went home and opened my bible and read the “fool” verse and then my “theme verse” for this site…”for freedom Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1).
After that, I marveled at just how faithful God is.

I haven’t lost much to Katrina. My apartment is fine. My car is fine. I have a job and my family is safe. My parents, however, have to gut their house and start all over. In the end, they are going to wind up with something much better than they had before. That is my hope too. Though so far I haven’t lost anything to this storm, the Lord is using it to show me more of what needs to be washed away. In the end, I am hoping that I can say I lost much by way of this storm and came out better than I was before…for His glory!

And I have a promise from the Lord that no matter how foolish I am, I will not go astray. That is just amazing to me. That means that God’s sovereignty accounts and plans for my foolishness and each incident is not a backtrack but a stepping stone to more humility, more death to self, and greater holiness. Though I am not reveling in my foolishness…I am so thankful that in God’s economy it is purposeful!