Originally published Sunday, 17 May 2015.
Just a short while ago, my husband and I were traveling in Texas. We didn't know the area so well, so when our GPS service broke, we shifted into high-anxiety mode. We were driving roads that we didn't know. We had no idea where we were headed, but we most assuredly figured it was all the wrong way.
Have you ever been there? Lost?
In a place of not knowing?
What your future holds?
How God will do it?
Where he will send you?
How he will take you?
The unknown is scary.
It threatens today's joys with tomorrow's pain.
It whispers words of fear over faith.
It steals the joy of the moment and replaces it with the stress of questions.
For my family, it wasn't so much that we thought our life was in danger, but it was that we felt aimless, we felt misdirected and we felt lost.
Underneath the surface worries and anxieties, we felt out of control. We lost our power to handle things, to know, to handle and to plan.
What future seems lost and unknown to you?
A decision?
A living location?
A marriage?
A relationship?
Finances?
Life issues?
God knows.
But, in his all-knowing, all-loving and all-powerful way, he decided we shouldn't.
He hasn't left us though.
He goes with us.
And, perhaps, what we thought was lost is really found as we turn to God in the midst of uncharted territory.
Because here we get an opportunity to "try on" the glasses of faith. And as we do, our vision sharpens.
Instead of seeing all we can't grasp, we start seeing the one who grasps everything with perfection - God.
As we see our lack of control, into vision comes the one who controls all our life's controls.
As we see the maker, we see how he can make all things in our lives work for good.
"I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see." - Amazing Grace
It's in the "not knowing" that brings us to our knees in prayer, to lift our hands in honor, to surrender our heart with abandon. Then, we start seeing truth. We start to realize that even when we had sight, we were always lost - without Him.
There is power in admitting you are fully lost without Jesus.
Because then, rather than living lost in the abyss of an unknown future, we can start living lost in the awe of a deeply known Savior.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Ps. 23:4
Imagine:
Through the black darkness of the valley Jesus walks with you saying, "Do not fear."
Even though evil seems to lurk around every corner, God rests his hand on your shoulder, saying, "I am the world's holder."
As passing shadows, shoot from right to left, Jesus speaks, "These things, too, shall pass, but my love endures forever."
As death comes in the night, God offers you his rod and his staff. You know you will find your way, not because you can see, but because you are being led by his always-vision, that sees you through any situation.
The God of comfort is leading, guiding and holding you now - and forevermore.
My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. Ps 119.50
We may feel lost, without GPS, but one thing remains true - Jesus will see us through. And, we don't have to see, in order to believe that God is for us, with us and will never abandon us. No matter what dark roads lurk, we remain secure in Him - yesterday, today and tomorrow.
For we live by faith, not by sight. 2 Cor. 5:7
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