Who We Are Following! Page 2

 "The Lord is my shepard, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, 

he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.  

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."
Psalm 23: 1-3

Before we begin our journey down the path less taken...let us understand who we are following.  The scripture above tells us that the Lord God is our guide...and that He will provide.  It tells us that we will find contentment,  a lush place to rest, water to drink and restoration for our souls. (This is speaking of things being "well in our souls" - of peace).   Even more than all of this...we will be led down paths of righteousness in the name of God.  Wow!  I'm comfortable with what God is offering here. Are you? Now I know that life is not perfect...but I have faith in the one who has called me to it.   Do you have faith in the Guide that has called you to this journey? 

Thomas C Upham wrote;

  "We must be wiling to live by faith, not hoping or desiring to live any other way. 

 We must be willing to have every light around us extinguished, 

to have every star in the heavens blotted out,

 and to live with nothing encircling us but darkness and danger. 

 Yes, we must be willing to do all this, if God will only leave within our soul 

an inner radiance from the pure, bright light that FAITH has kindled." 

Mr. Upham is speaking of the faith and courage we need when darkness of trials surrounds us.  The above scripture brings to mind bright, crisp days with green fields as far as the eye can see...and still waters sparkling in the rays of sun--you know--like those Spring days that "seem" perfect. We will continue to read the 23rd Psalm to see a contrast of the perfect days we are sometimes blessed with and those valleys we must sometimes endure.  The passage of time will indeed bring us through days of perfection and to nights when we have nothing but a kindling of faith.  With this truth we begin our journey....

Envision life as a beautiful winding road with hills, bends, forks and all of nature's beauty. Let's begin our walk in the sunshine.  God provides the sun that warms us, scenery that encourages us,  and fields of gold that invite us to sit and stay awhile.  These blessings truly sustain us.  He also challenges us with starless nights where courage is our only light.

In Psalm 23 verse 4 it states:

 "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

There will be times that we're traveling in darkness, or even danger, with death looming. It is then, and always, that we must trust God's presence and path for our lives and step out with confidence that we're well taken care of. The remainder of the 23rd Psalm says in verses 5 & 6:

 "You prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies. 

 You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 

 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, 

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

God is always with us...even in the presence of our enemies.  Our life will overflow with love, no matter where we are along the path.  Even in the midst of our pain there is love....so let's be fine with where we find ourselves along the way--whether it be the brightest of days or the darkest of nights.  Let's maintain trust and faith in our Guide; our God.  He knows the path and what is ahead.  We can only see what is right in front of us but he can see around the  bends and over the hills.  He knows when we should linger and when we are required to step out in faith.  He knows the way to go and it's simply up to us to follow.  The road that is ahead of us is truly exciting.  God's plans for us include the wonderful anticipation of what is around the next corner. This is a life-long journey as we walk the path we're called to.  Whether the storms are raging or we are lingering by still waters let us remember who we are following… 

"Let us fix our eyes Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith."  Hebrews 12: 2

Song Recommendation
Jesus Messiah
By:  Chris Tomlin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4whBsh9ovI&start_radio=1&list=RDf4whBsh9ovI