God is love. He
loves us and he cares for us. A few years ago, I had a dream. I was
walking on a mountain and was about to enter a cave. A guide came and
looked into the cave and said to me, “Are you going in?” Not
knowing what to do I hesitated. The guide then gave me his hand and
said, “Will you follow me?” Then I woke up.
Although I always
felt that we should not take dreams seriously, I reflected on it and
somehow related this to my relationship with the Lord. If I should
enter the dark cave, I needed a guide to lead me. Once inside, I may
not know where to pass but the important thing is I keep my eyes on
my guide. And the more I trust the guide, the more I am sure to reach
the end of the cave. It does not really matter what is ahead of me
what matters is who is ahead of me.
This is also true
with our relationship with the Lord. Very often in our relationship
with him, the Lord leads us to a point where we have to make a
decision. And at that point, things will seem uncertain and dark.
There will be fears of the future. It is at this point that the Lord
gives us his hand and says, “Will you follow me?”
Our response to
this question depends on our love for the Lord. If we love the Lord,
we will always want to be where he is for us. And even if the way
that he leads is dark or uncertain and very often painful, we push on
because we know that this is the Lord's will and that we will come
out better than before.
In my years of
walking in the Lord, the Lord has humbled me a lot. In my eight years
of marriage, my family moved to eight cities for an average of one
city for each year of marriage.
And every time we
move people will ask us, are you here for the long term? And in the
past, I always say, “Yes”. And something always happens that
makes us move to another city.
My point here is
that every time we move, I always think, “This is it. I want to
settle here.” My limited perspective of my condition makes me think
I am in the place the Lord has marked for me. Now, I am older and
hopefully a little wiser, I realize that the only constant in all the
moves we had was the Lord.
We had been in
places where we had plenty. There were places where we had just
enough. There was also a time when I was laid-off and we had to dip
into our savings to be able to eat.
But through all
these, I saw that the Lord was always there. Through all
uncertainties, the Lord was always there. The lows were in fact ways
of the Lord to kick me out of complacency so that I will move and do
his will. How true it is what Paul said, “All things work for
the good of those who love God and for those called according to his
purpose.”
We all live in
uncertain moments although in different situations. Some of you are
not sure whether they will have a job next month. My new career
forces me to trust the Lord to provide for the next contract. And I
tell you, I feel the same way as you do. But what makes me confident
is that the Lord is true to his word. He said he will provide and HE
WILL PROVIDE. God's word is true and if he says so, it shall happen.
When things ahead
are dark we do not worry about what is ahead of us. All we need to
know is who is leading us. If it is the Lord, then we are safe.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please feel free to post comments. However, be aware that comments are moderated and may be removed at the author's discretion.