George
Matheson, best known for the hymn, “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go,” wrote
another song titled “Ignored Blessings,” in which he looks back to “the road
gone by.” It was by looking back he could see that his heavenly Father had led
him all the way.
God has
an itinerary for each of us, a “course” that we must run (see Acts 20:24 and 2
Tim. 4:7). Our route is charted in the councils of heaven and rooted in the
sovereign purposes of God.
Yet our
choices are not irrelevant. We make decisions every day, large and small, some
of which have life-altering consequences. The question—aside from the
confounding mystery of God’s sovereignty and human choice—is this: How can we
discern the course to be run?
The answer is clearer to me now that I’m older and have more of the past to look back on. By looking back, I see that God has led me all the way. I can truthfully say, “God has been my shepherd all my life to this day” (Gen. 48:15 NIV). Though clouds surround the present and I do not know what the future may hold, I have the assurance that the Shepherd will show me the way. My task is to follow Him in love and obedience, and trust each step to Him.
