The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Trust an unknown future to a God that we do know
Has this been a year of uncertainty? Does it feel as though your back is against the wall?
Perhaps, each day that goes by regardless of all the work you’re doing nothing seems to be happening. Worries mount. And you may begin to grow weary or impatient. For, it can be easy to get discouraged, negative, and accept that situations will never work out. Then, in moments of despair, you could wonder, “What is going on?” and “How do I move forward in life when I can’t see my way on the road ahead?”
The answer is: go forward with faith. Trust an unknown future to a God that we do know. Hence, hold on: God hasn’t forgotten about you. His timing is perfect.
Once, I heard about a man who was depressed to the point that he felt life didn’t have a purpose anymore. “I was driving around my town at night completely and utterly hopeless,” he explained.
Praying, he asked God to show him the best path that He had set for him. Just then, the man was flipping through the radio when a familiar song played. He listened to the words of the song and couldn’t believe how closely the words matched how he felt. As the man pulled his car over to the side of the road, he began to cry. He continued to listen to the song. It was like a reassuring hug from God.
“Let me tell you...redemption won, the struggle ended and God mended my heart. The song rose from the ashes of my broken heart and all that was dead inside was reborn and I am no longer worn.” Thereafter, that evening the man drove back home. With a renewed sense of hope and purpose, he confidently declared with faith, “I don’t know what the future holds. But God knows, for He holds my future in His Hands.”
On the road of life, we will come across winding paths of delays, impediments, and signs that read, “Road Closed.” Yet, if God can use a song to turn around this man’s thought process, He can certainly help you in your circumstance.
What you’re facing today is not permanent. Setbacks are not dead ends, but merely a detour toward your destined purpose. So with steadfast faith, take the trials and the bumps in the road in stride, moving boldly ahead. And refuse to be stopped by a challenging situation.
The best is still in front of you.
• Your dream may look impossible right now. Yet, if you keep walking toward it, God will be right next to you, walking with you to victory.
• You might have been rejected and pushed to the side. Still, if you persist through opposing forces, your determination will be rewarded.
• The goals of your heart may be taking a long time to transpire. But, if God inspired your aspirations, He will give you the strength to persevere and will bless your efforts.
• Situations might be difficult. However, you are capable of rising above disappointments and standing strong until the tide turns.
• Perhaps, you’ve gotten sidetracked. Okay, but today you are one choice away from a new beginning.
You are very special. And you are loved. God wants to do something extraordinary in your life, bigger than you can imagine. Thus, don’t give up now, settling for less than God’s best. Do not live below your potential, taking the easy way out, the convenient road of least resistance. Be determined to live the best life that you can. When we settle for the “status quo,” we lose our motivation, our purpose and joy. Plus, the extreme good we can do for others and the world around us can go unmet.
When I read about the life of Esther in the Bible, I discovered how God’s hand called her to fulfill an important role. Esther was a woman of deep faith and was placed in the position to be queen. When she heard that a law could be passed to make it legal to kill all Israelites, Esther trusted that God would bring His people through the difficulties they faced. Thus, boldly, she went forward by faith and asked the favor of the King to spare her life and the lives of her people. The King granted her request. And as a result of Esther’s faithfulness, courage and influence, she saved an entire nation.
Thus, keep a strong connection with God, “who directs you in the way you should go” (Isaiah 48:17), “works all things together for good” (Romans 8:28), and will make, “The crooked roads straight, and the rough ways smooth” (Luke 3:5).
Boundless resources of strength and depths of love lie within His word and when you believe it, it becomes a part of you. Remember, “According to your faith, be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29). All things are possible when you have faith. For true faith is to believe in what you do not yet see and the reward of having great faith is to see in tangible form that in which you so strongly believed.
I like writer and Minister Oswald Chamber’s description of faith when he wrote, “Faith never knows where it is being led, but it knows and loves the One who is leading.”
Stand strong and live in an attitude of trust, faith and expectancy. Faith is not pretending our problems don’t exist, nor is it blind optimism. It points us beyond our tribulations to the hope we have in God’s goodness and mercy.
Some time ago, I received a lovely letter from a gentleman who wrote, “For almost 50 years now, I have walked with the Lord. It’s been great, a great life.
Naturally, there have been mountaintops and valleys, but one thing I am sure of is that God has a calling on each of our lives. And God’s plans for those who love Him are beyond what the eye has seen, ear has heard, or mind has conceived.”
God works in the lives of ordinary people like you and me. All of a sudden, things will turn in your favor. You’ll feel better. A need will be met. And past stumbling blocks will become stepping stones to your heart’s desire.
Live life with honor and integrity and always be on the lookout for people that you can help. Keep going forward by faith; see yourself accomplishing your dreams, for success can be behind the next bend in the road.