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 that 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.
I think 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 would 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. (Not bad, eh?). And every time we move people will ask us, are you here for the long term? And in the past, I never learned and 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 that, "This is it. I want to settle here." My limited perspective of my condition makes me think that 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.
Praise be to God!