{"id":110,"date":"2013-11-11T20:16:00","date_gmt":"2013-11-12T01:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nialangley.com\/blog\/get-ahead-of-me.html"},"modified":"2017-04-18T16:53:58","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T20:53:58","slug":"get-ahead-of-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nialangley.com\/blog\/get-ahead-of-me\/","title":{"rendered":""Don't Get Ahead of Me""},"content":{"rendered":"
\nThis story was my first publication outside of NIA SPEAKS. “Don’t Get Ahead of Me” was published as the cover story last December in Insight<\/i> Magazine, an international magazine for high school and college-age Christians.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

My father rushed down the stairs, faster than I\u2019ve ever seen him run before. He was out of there. Gone. In the middle of Detroit. And I knew he wasn\u2019t going to stop until he found whom he was looking for.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\u201cStay with me\u201d<\/b>

My younger sister, mother, father, and I were in Detroit, Michigan, for a music workshop. Rehearsal was quickly approaching, so we left our hotel and made our way to the outdoor metro station, better known as the air shuttle or elevated tram.

My sister, Aliya, had more energy than the rest of us, causing her to walk at a quicker pace. My father said many times, \u201cDon\u2019t get ahead of me. Stay with me.\u201d Aliya would comply for a while, but eventually return to the faster pace. Again Dad would say, \u201cPull back. Don\u2019t get ahead of me.\u201d

We walked up some stairs to get to the elevated tram. Once again, Aliya was a little ahead of the rest of the family. The tram was there, the door was open, and Aliya walked in. When her second foot reached the inside of the tram, the doors immediately closed.

I still vividly remember the look on my sister\u2019s face when she realized what had happened. Inside the tram, she started running toward us as it took off in the opposite direction.

The chase<\/b>

I held my breath. My father was gone, running to get to the next station. Like a smack to the face, it hit me: my helpless little sister was lost . . . in Detroit\u2014a place that isn\u2019t exactly known as the safest place in the country. I panicked and cried. My mother and I got on the next tram.

I don\u2019t know how far my father had to run, but he eventually caught up with my sister. A woman on the tram had noticed what had happened and had watched out for Aliya while she was on the tram. My father thanked her immensely, and Aliya was again in his care.

My mother and I were still on the other tram, now with fellow musicians, when we got the news. I was relieved. When Aliya returned to my mother\u2019s arms, my mother cried. Who knows what would have happened if the stranger hadn\u2019t watched over her?
<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cStay with Me\u201d<\/b>

I can easily liken this story to our relationships with God. He is constantly saying to us, \u201cDon\u2019t get ahead of Me. Stay with Me.\u201d It is in our best interest to obey Him. If we don\u2019t, we can get lost.

In a way, the prodigal son got ahead of his father by asking for his inheritance early (see Luke 14:11-32). He wasted his life away because he went too fast. The prodigal son hit rock bottom. He had nothing left, and soon he got so hungry that even pigs\u2019 food started to look good to him. But when he decided to return home, his father welcomed him with open arms.

Abraham and Sarah got ahead of God (see Genesis 12-21). God promised them a son even though they were old. All they had to do was wait. But instead of waiting on Him, they took matters into their own hands. Sarah had Abraham sleep with Hagar, her servant. Hagar then had a baby by Abraham\u2014Ishmael. Still, as God had promised, Abraham and Sarah had a son\u2014Isaac. Because of the shortcut with Hagar, though, the descendants of Ishmael and the descendants of Isaac are still in conflict to this day.

There are consequences for going ahead of God. Our reasons to go ahead of Him may seem logical at the moment, but God\u2019s logic trumps everything. We read in Isaiah 55:8, 9: \u201cFor my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts\u201d (KJV). The wisest thought of man can\u2019t touch the dumbest thought of God (and God doesn\u2019t have dumb thoughts!). God knows the end from the beginning. All we have to do is trust in Him and wait on Him.

Sometimes we might mess up and try to get ahead of God, but like the father took back the prodigal son, like God blessed Isaac\u2019s descendants, and like God sent the stranger to watch over my sister, God will take care of us.

\u201cWait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord\u201d (Psalm 27:14, KJV).<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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