Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:20-21
A rough path lies ahead But You already knew the Bible says that I'd be wise To follow closely You Sometimes faith comes easy Other times - strenuous The hand-held lantern to the ground Truly is arduous A dark path lies ahead It's not that You're not light You want me close - right by your side To illuminate my sight Your Word is the lantern The rugged path won't win It's the grueling steps in between I have to trust You in 'Tis not til I shrink very low With lantern in the dirt That I can see the path clearly While You hold "my great hurt"
my inspiration
I believe that, in guiding us, God deals with us as He dealt with the Israelites as He led them out of Egypt. The first crossing of the sea was made very easy. The guidance could not have been simpler: the east wind blew and divided the sea before the people had to cross. Not so much as a foot was wet, except perhaps by a wind-driven spray. Moreover, it was impossible. as it were, to disobey, since they were pursued by Pharaoh’s chariots and horsemen. (Exodus 14)
But how difficult it was on the second occasion. The priests had to walk into the strong current of a flooded river and stand still there. What an order to scoff at, and what a site it would pose to other men! But it was not until they obeyed – without a particle of visible proof that they were doing right – and carried the ark right into the river, that the water rolled back before them. (Joshua 3)
So it may be for us as we go with God..
If only the next step is clear, then the one thing to do is take it! Don’t pledge your Lord or yourself to any steps beyond what you know. You don’t see them yet.
Once when I was climbing at night, in a forest before there was a made path, I learned what was meant by the words of Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, and a light for my path.” I had only a lantern, and had to hold it very low or I would certainly have slipped on those rough rocks.
We don’t walk spiritually by electric light, but by a hand-held lantern. And a lantern shows only the next step – not several steps ahead.
Amy Carmichael, Candles in the Dark, pp. 41,43
My sweet Dad, John Kennedy, was diagnosed with ALS on July 19, 2022. He is braving the most devastating diagnosis that I could imagine. In prayer, he refers to this trial as “my great hurt,” and I never want to forget this.
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