Trail Blazer

    I am so thankful that I am not the one in charge of my life.  Our life-maps seem, at times, far more complicated than we know.  Can’t we just envision ourselves, all tangled-up in massive strips of squiggled-up, scribbled-on map paper, finally having to stop and ask God for directions?  Yeah.  A pretty laughable sight when we think about it, right? 

    Sometimes it is easy to wonder why something-or-other happened.  Perhaps we’ve lost a loved one.  Or perhaps a family has to move again for the trillionth time.  Whatever the case may be, it is so easy to assume that we know exactly what God is doing in our lives.  Then, when we “Know” what we’re doing and where we’re headed, we press life's “Auto-pilot” button, ready to sit back and enjoy the ride.  Until we encounter some turbulence. 

    There are times in life when it is easy to just assume ~usually subconsciously ~ that we know what God is going to do in and through our individual lives.  That is a big mistake.   To do so is to underestimate Him.  “…The foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength (1 Cor. 1:25).”  We do not know what tomorrow is going to hold (Prov. 27:1).  It is important to remember that He not only has a plan for His obedient children, but He knows these plans (Jer. 29:11).  His thoughts toward us are many; too many, in fact, to even be numbered (Ps. 40:5).  His ways are unsearchable, past finding out.  To put our confidence in tomorrow is foolishness. Take a look at what Paul says in Romans 11:33-36:

How great is our God!  He is indescribable.

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! 

How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

‘Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?’

‘Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him”?

For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be the glory forever!  Amen.

    We serve a trail-blazing God, Whose thoughts are not our thoughts and Whose ways are not our ways (Is. 55:8).  Creation is testament to this fact.  At Bible Study last night, we watched Louie Giglio’s conference “How Great Is Our God”.  The power and majesty of God in His creation is enough to leave one speechless.  As one of my friends pointed out, “We think our problems are so big.”  But what are they, in light of a God Who spoke and the universe and all of creation was created (see Genesis 1!).  He breathed and the stars were made (Ps. 33:6).  He laid the foundations of the earth (Job. 38:4-7).  And by the way, He placed all of these celestial beings in just the right places so as not to utterly desecrate the earth. 

    If all we had were to be stripped away tomorrow, would that change Who God is?  Do our circumstances change the fact that our God is this all-powerful and all-knowing?  When life gets rough, it is good to stop and get perspective on the fact that God is the Creator of all.  And that is no small thing.  Clearly, if He put such detail into the heavens, and into us, who are “Fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139:14), then why doubt that He will guide us, even if He takes us to parts unknown; an altogether different route than we were sure He was going to take us?  Or when the road of life seems full of rocks and bumps:  God is not only a trail-blazer, He created the trail.  He never changes (Heb. 13:8).  If that isn’t enough reason to trust Him, then what is? 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 (Emphasis mine)