Where Did You Find God Today?

What is a ward?  A hospital wing? An orphan you’ve decided to financially support, especially if you live in Jane Austen’s time in England?

The word “ward” brings to mind an act of caring and being responsible for the welfare of another. If we assign a meaning to each letter, I see W-A-R-D as “with all resources directed.”  It becomes our focus.  And that is important.

Now, let’s add a syllable in front of the word. Award, for example.

Awards are nice. We all like to take responsibility for something we have done well. Bow at the sound of the applause. Maybe blush a tad bit as the chest swells with pride. Nothing wrong in that. We should be recognized for our accomplishments.

As a believer, the ultimate award awaits me in Heaven. Paul told Timothy, “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day…” (2 Timothy 4:8). But Paul also knew who provided the means for that award. It was the Lord and to His glory that all of Paul’s resources were directed.

Backward, forward, toward. By adding the syllables “back”,  “for“, or to””, it switches from being a noun to a verb. It implies action. And we are responsible for our actions, right?

Backward? Hmm. John Grant, former Senator from Florida, said in a recent devotional from Thoughts About God, “In life looking back is not going to help you…Never look back; nothing ever changes there. Don’t look back because you are not going that way.”

Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, stated it this way: “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead” (3:1).

When we look backward, our resources are directed to a past we cannot change. It stagnates us, like a river that has lost its current. So, we need to find another “ward” to go. Another direction to utilize our resources.

So, should we go toward? or forward? The Apostle Paul chose the word forward. Why?

If we go toward, we are being drawn. It is a passive movement. Someone or something else is pulling us.  But if we go forward, then we take the action and decide to move. We take ownership.  We are “for” whatever lies ahead.

Forward, by using the definition above, is a positive responsibility. We are moving with all of our resources in a future direction that holds meaning and purpose. And for Christians, it is to become more Christ-like, to give God the glory, and to help others along the way. That is the way to go.

Are you moving forward in your faith walk?  Or have you stopped, because you keep looking back? Are you wanting to move forward but aren’t taking action? Are you being pulled by the momentum of someone else’s faith instead?

It’s okay to lean on Christ when you are weak, but when you are again ready to run the race, He will move you forward like a parent watching his child wobble on a two-wheel bike, always there to catch you if you fall but encouraging you to keep peddling forward.