God Knows My Path
One of my favorite Bible passages (yes, I have many) is Psalm 142, written by David in the cave of Adullam. I referenced this chapter a couple of weeks ago, and as I was reading through the familiar verses, a thought jumped out at me. As always, God gave me the encouragement I needed at the time I needed it most.
“When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.”
Do you know what I find overwhelming? Decisions. I miss the good old days when the most difficult choice I had to face each day was what we were going to have for dinner. All of that changed the moment we surrendered to the mission field. Suddenly, life took on more choices than I could have ever imagined.
Deputation itself is a whirlpool of decisions. Which pastors does Jason need to call? What churches will we visit this week? Should we update our prayer cards or stay with what we have? Should we go full-time and trust God to provide, or should we heed the common sense He gave us and keep working until we have enough financial support coming in? What are we going to do with Barnabas when we make that long trip to Texas? And on and on it goes. Day after day. Week after week.
And for me, the mission work is only a part of it. I awoke this morning—the day I have set aside for writing—with a plethora of choices of how to spend my writing time. A new devotional book for minister’s wives or the fiction book I’ve been trying to finish for months? Should I try to work out that domain name issue or finish some of the marketing plans I’ve set in motion? It’s enough to drive a person crazy. . .or overwhelmed, as the psalmist declared.
But here’s the good news, the comfort I found in that beautiful verse above. David said, “When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path.” Oh, hallelujah! I may not know if I’m coming or going, but God does. I may be confused over what projects to tackle, but God isn’t. I may feel overwhelmed by the myriad of decisions facing me each day, but God says, “Don’t worry about it. I already know the path. I can see it clearly. Just follow me, and I’ll show you the way.”
Friends, we don’t have to have all the answers. Even when life seems crazy and completely out of control, God reminds us that He knows exactly what to do and where to go. He’s not frazzled by the choices or uncertain which direction we should go. He has all the answers and will gladly guide us if we’ll let Him.
Today, I may be overwhelmed, but that doesn’t change the fact that God knows my path. So, I can flounder about and try to figure out what to do, or I can talk to my Father and allow Him to lovingly guide me. Now that’s a decision that’s easy to make!