“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalm 16:11)
I know where I am going, I know the way there.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) But I do not know what lays ahead of me on that path, save for the final gate.
I know that whatever the Almighty chooses for me will be for my good, to bring me to that expected end, I know that my soul is well protected, but I do not know what He has instore for my flesh. I do not know how much He will allow our adversary to attack me, but I do know that in His strength I can persevere.
Faith my friends, continuing, unquestioning, abiding faith that what lays ahead on that path is well known, and even prepared in advance for us, to further refine us, to make us into more of the image of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Fear causes people to grasp for nearly anything that is placed before them, like a drowning man, the world is offering life rafts to all who will climb aboard, but there is a price to pay for that assistance. You can have almost anything you want as long as you do what they say, and the flesh understands full well that only the world can offer what it wants.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)
The flesh knows that calling is not for him. The flesh, our sinful nature, also hates the path that the Almighty has placed us on, for it knows that at the end of it, it will no longer exist, it will be discarded, never to return. And so, the diversions of the world it calls us to listen to, the desires it has it wants us to fulfill, the world we hate it loves. It knows as much about the path we are on as we do, it recognizes and detests the way of holiness, of humility and servitude.
The Holy Spirit guides us and at the same time attempts to restrict us from following those fleshly desires. Those feelings you have when you contemplate stepping off the path of righteousness, if even for a moment, are the Holy Spirit warning us, telling us that this is not the way Christ would go.
I know this truth, and so do you, the question is, are you willing to not only deny yourself those carnal and temporal pleasures, but are you willing to do so solely for His glory?
You can answer that question in part with this, how badly do you want to hear, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant?”
I know the way, so do you, and you know as well as I do that we should not expect to find any smooth surfaces on this path to glory, but we also know that each step, if it is done in consideration of the Lord and the price that was paid for us, will find firm footing. Each step carefully calculated, thought out in advance, always looking ahead as far as we have been blessed to, and always in faith towards Him who has gone on before us.
Pitfalls, traps, attacks from our adversary, diversions, subtle deceptions, all those and more lay before us.
“There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” (Psalm 91:10)
You must believe in this, that you are loved with an everlasting love, that nothing is going to happen to you unless the Living God allows it to or brings it into your life Himself. For His glory, everything in our lives, no matter what it is, is to be seen by us for His glory.
I know the way, so do you.
“But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.” (Psalm 5:11)
There is no place to stumble on those streets of gold that await us.