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From Ditches to Destiny

Isaiah 57:18-19

“I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and comfort him and his mourners, creating words of praise.” The LORD says, “Peace, peace to the one who is far or near, and I will heal him.”

I once had a kitten that I fully intended to be an outdoor cat. I kept him in the garage, where he seemed to be quite at home until he wanted to wander. Occasionally, when the garage door opened, he would sneak out to venture around the yard, which was fine as long as I was at home to watch for him. One Wednesday night, however, I returned from church to find no kitten in the garage, and it had been raining rather hard. As I began to call him, I heard his loud meow coming from across the street. I quickly followed the sound of his cries through the dark to find him frantically screaming and soaking wet in the ditch.

Through the night and all the next day, he seemed to be in pain and had completely lost his friendly, playful, mischievous personality. He was certainly traumatized by whatever happened, and the cuddly kitten who normally craved attention did not want anyone to touch him. In the evening, however, he jumped in my lap for a much needed head rub and climbed right under my chin, where he liked to plant himself anytime I sat down. I knew he was feeling better. The second morning, I woke to the usual demanding meows from the garage that let me know he wanted inside, and I saw more of his playful personality emerge as he purposefully stole my attention.

This passage from Isaiah reminds me how my natural inclination was to try to comfort and heal this wayward kitten who had obviously gotten into way more trouble than he could handle. I did not judge him or leave him to fend for himself in that cold, wet ditch, even though he deliberately did what he knew better than to do. I’m so very thankful that God does not leave us in the ditches of our own mess, either. He lovingly scoops us up, watches over us in our pain, nurses us back to health, and comforts our traumatized spirit until we can sing a song of praise to Him once again.

If you find yourself in your own ditch today, turn to your loving heavenly Father and hear His voice calling, “Peace, peace,” to you. He knows exactly why you wandered, and He is waiting to comfort and heal that part of you that seeks something other than Him. He has seen your ways, and He is determined to heal you if you turn to Him. Sometimes, we just have to see that our own way doesn’t work and can even be hazardous to us before we are willing to obey and move forward in His will. He can certainly take us from ditches to destiny when we cry out to Him. Hallelujah!

Have a blessed day!

PHOEBE Connections, Inc. is a 501(c)3 dedicated to enhancing the lives of widows by building relationships and helping them find new identity in Jesus Christ through serving others. We promote an atmosphere of fellowship, where the widow can connect with other widows to develop friendships and supportive relationships.