“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good” Psalm 25:4-7
I read a story yesterday about a man from California who suddenly called out to God and said “God, I have followed You faithfully and You have told me to ‘ask, and you will receive’ and I would like you to build me a bridge between here and Hawaii so I can drive there whenever I want.” Clouds moved in overhead and a voice from Heaven replied, “You don’t realize what you are asking. I can do this but consider all the resources necessary for the piling, concrete and steel for the roadbed that will be needed; this is frivolous; take more time and come back with another more well thought prayer request.” A week later the man had a different prayer request for God; “Tell me how to understand what a woman thinks, what she feels, why she cries and how I can make her truly happy.” God replied, “About that bridge; would that be two lanes or four?”
Imagine the prayer dialogue between the people who began Trinity HOPE and God when they were wondering how to get food to Haiti in 1999; “should we send food to Haiti?” God provided a direction to purchase it locally and if the leaders would have ignored His directions there is no way that the program could have possibly grown to serve over 76,000 meals daily throughout Haiti by sending bags of beans and rice. The attached photo is the cook and her kitchen at Froebel in Leogane where 160 are fed daily. No running water or electricity and there are people in our world who can’t imagine how this can keep going day after day; it is from God. His ways are always the only way, and we need to always seek His ways and follow and proceed in His directions. I am closing today with the words from the hymn ‘Thy way, not mine, O Lord’ that were written by Horatius Bonar in 1857.
“Thy way, not mine, 0 Lord, however dark it be. Lead me by Thine own hand; choose Thou the path for me. I dare not choose my lot; I would not if I might. Choose Thou for me, my God; so shall I walk aright. Choose Thou for me my friends, my sickness or my health; choose Thou my cares for me, my poverty or wealth. Not mine, not mine, the choice, in things or great or small; be Thou my Guide, my Strength, my Wisdom, and my All.”
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.