I firmly believe that when life, circumstances, and an unknown future overwhelms me, it is time for me to train myself again in the Sovereignty of God (See “My Steps are Watched.”).  We all do life one day at a time, and very often, the circumstances can be unpredictable and scary.  When one is in a season of waiting (or “Standing Firm”), the unknown future can weigh heavily on your mind and heart (“Getting My Head Around Change”).

In times like this, it is easy to ask, “Where is God?” and “Why is He not telling me what is going on and what to do?”   I identify with Job, who said in Job 23:3-5

“If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to His dwelling!  I would state my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments.  I would find out what He would answer me and consider what He would say.”

There is a sense of frustration at the lack of clarity, lack of direction, lack of a clear word from God, an explanation.  Sometimes we could face anything if we could only understand why?  Job expresses this frustration in Job 23:8-9

“But if I go to the east, he is not there;  if I go to the west, I do not find him.

When He is at work in the north, I do not see him;  when He turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.”

But then, in the midst of all this frustration, Job says a fantastic thing:

“For He knows the way that I take…”

He knows the path I have walked up until now.  He knows where I am right now. AND He has prepared my way ahead of me.  When my adult children are travelling to a new destination, I often ask them to have a live location on their cell phones to see where they are in their journey and ensure that they have not gone off track.  Should they stray from the route, I can always contact them to redirect them.  God has my live location; He knows exactly where I am in the path of life and what’s more, He has prepared the rest of the journey.

There is a comfort in knowing that God knows where I am in the path of life right now.  This comfort is echoed in Psalm 142:3 where David was feeling isolated, fearful and depressed:

“When my spirit grows faint within me, it is YOU who know my way.”

I have been rehearsing this phrase in my mind lately:

He knows the way I take.

My life is not governed by fate, where fate determines the path that I take.  To believe that fate, luck and chance are playing a role is to dethrone my God.  He has authority and sovereign control over ALL the universe; He is not some abstract God watching from a distance what fate would hand out to me.   Instead, He is a very personal God, personally involved in my life, acting on my behalf and all-powerful to see His purposes for my life fulfilled.

He knows the way that I take.

I may not be able to see my final destination in the land of tomorrow, but God knows the way and where I am on that route right now.  When I reach a certain point on the way, the next part will become apparent to me, but…the Lord knows the way that I take.

Elijah was living through a famine.  God told him to hide in the Kerith ravine, a wadi, a channel that would eventually become dry because God was not allowing it to rain.  The ravens came to feed him, but surely he wondered how long he was going to hide there?  And when the water dried up, what then?  No clarity from God on that matter!  Only when the day came that the water dried up did God say, go find the widow of Zarephath.  God does not always tell us everything about the path we are taking.

He knows the way that I take.

Job expressed faith and trust in God in that statement.  He knew that His faith was being tested in his difficult circumstances.  There was no clarity in how long Job would suffer in his illness and lack and no clear direction from God.  No explanation, no answer to Job’s question of “Why?”

“For He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10)

  • How’s the test of your trust coming? Will your trust come forth as gold?  The Lord lights the fire of testing; He heats the furnace.  His goal is to refine our trust, not to consume it and leave us with ashes.
  • Are you able to trust God for where you are right now in the path of life, trusting that He holds your future and your well-being firmly in His hand?
  • Are you the type of person who wants the whole path revealed to you up-front before you will take on a journey of change?

He knows the way that I take.

Lord, I praise You because You are God Almighty, the One who made “in the beginning” and the One who says at the end: “I am the Alpha and Omega.”  Thank you that my life is in Your hands and that I can confidently place myself, my family and all that I am into Your hands.  Thank you that You know my life path so intimately, that You have plans for my life and that You will guide me into Your way every step.  I declare that I can live confident because You know the way that I take.  In Jesus Name. Amen.

My Steps Are Watched

Stand Firm

Getting My Head Around Change

The Dew of His Presence