’tis my God that leadeth me…

“For you are my rock and my fortress and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me.” Psalm 31:3

GPS has changed the way people travel. It has its flaws and risks but it has tremendously helped me find my way on the road, en route to new or unfamiliar places. I simply plug in the address of my destination and Google maps tells me how to get there. This navigation is made possible through signals transmitted by a network of satellites providing location information that spans way beyond the 20 feet ahead that I can clearly see with my own eyes.  Guidance from a system that sees the bigger picture keeps me going on the right path.

The Bible makes it clear that our God is a loving God who is committed to leading his people. Nehemiah recounts how God faithfully led the Israelites –  “You in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go.” Nehemiah 9:19  Like a good father, God does not abandon his people. He does not call a people to himself only to leave them to figure it all out on their own.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me.” John 10:27  What a powerful promise to us who are in Christ.  He who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6) gave himself up as a sacrifice for us that we may become part of his flock – the sheep that hear his voice. We now have a Good Shepherd who knows us more than we know ourselves. Jesus, our Shepherd who is also the Word of God, writes his law in our hearts and renews our minds such that we see him as our ultimate joy,  obedience becomes our delight and the follow me happens.  Jesus, the Word of God, is our pillar of light that dispels the darkness within us, speaks to our discernment, and directs our steps. No wonder the psalmist exclaimed “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105  God takes no pleasure in seeing us fumble and stumble (though he sometimes allows it to teach us a lesson). It grieves him to see us wandering aimlessly like sheep without a shepherd. In Isaiah, God also declared that he will be a Teacher who will be there for the tough times.  Isaiah 30:20-21 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. 

Considering the power of his word and the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, it is absolute foolishness on our part when we simply ignore his guidance; when we put on our earplugs of pride. Praise God for those moments when despite our deafness and callousness, our Father chooses to reach out with his own hand and  hold us with a firm yet loving grip that causes our hearts to soften and yield, such that we can keep on following him who always leads us for his glory and our good.

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 2 Cor 2:14

He leadeth me: O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be,
still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

He leadeth me, he leadeth me;
by his own hand he leadeth me:
his faithful follower I would be,
for by his hand he leadeth me.

Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
sometimes where Eden’s flowers bloom,
by waters calm, o’er troubled sea,
still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

(from He Leadeth Me – hymn by Joseph H. Gilmore and William Bradbury, 1880)