One of the most dangerous prayers you can pray is “Lord, lead me.” In fact a lot of people talk about following Jesus, but very few actually do. Following Jesus may– no scratch that. . . . following Jesus WILL mean going to places you’d just rather not go.

Sometimes, the places are inside you where you come to your senses and realize you need to change. And change is hard. In fact, the only kind of change that I really and truly like is the kind that is shiny and has pictures of dead presidents on it. Just being honest.

Sometimes, the places He takes you are the broken places where the broken people who need God the most are. Those are ususally not in the good parts of town, but on the proverbial other side of the tracks.

But if you truly can say, “Jesus, take the wheel” and be fine wherever Jesus takes you, you will find this truth. You may not end up where you wanted to go or had planned to go, but when you get there, you wouldn’t trade where you are for anything.

You will find that the promised land isn’t a spot on the map, but the place where you see God’s promises take on flesh and blood and become real. It’s not a matter of geograpy, but it’s where the presence of God is and where what He has promised all along comes to pass.

Sometimes, you have to come to the point where you’ve tried everything you know to do and all your energy and resources are exhausted. Sometimes, you have to come to the end of you and say, “God, I can’t do this. I’m at the end of myself.” That’s when God can step in and amaze. In your admission of weakness, that’s when Jesus will step in and show Himself strongest. That’s where God will come through and you can only give Him the credit.

That’s not a bad place to be.