It is by no means enough to set out cheerfully with your God on any venture of faith. Tear into smallest pieces any itinerary for the journey which your imagination may have drawn up. Nothing will fall out as you expect.
Your guide will keep to no beaten path. He will lead you by a way such as you never dreamed your eyes would look on. He knows no fear and He expects you to fear nothing while He is with you.
~ L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert
Have you felt that the Lord asked you to step out in faith to do something or go somewhere you have never done or gone before? The road to get there seemed all laid out before you. But now, you are completely confused because the path you had imagined, the logical steps that seemed to be in front of you, is a broken, twisted, and–to your great bewilderment and fear– a possible dead-end.
The above paragraphs from Streams in the Desert spoke so loudly to me. There have been others who have walked a broken path and lived to tell the story of great redemption, deliverance, or provision. I am looking forward to the day when I will be able to share all that God is doing – the 1000 things He is doing that I cannot yet see.
And so, even though I prefer the beaten path, a mapped-out itinerary with each step that promises only safety or comfort, I must trust the Hand I have put mine into. And when I cannot see what God is doing, I must tell my soul again of His character and promises.
Who is among you who [reverently] fears the Lord, who obeys the voice of His Servant, yet who walks in darkness and deep trouble and has no shining splendor [in his heart]? Let him rely on, trust in, and be confident in the name of the Lord, and let him lean upon and be supported by his God. Isaiah 50:10 (AMP)
“Therefore I am now going to allure her;
and will make the Valley of Achor [the Valley of Pain] a door of hope…” Hosea 2:14-15 (NIV)
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deut. 31:8 (NIV)
