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Grace takes you from where you are to where God wants you to be. It is a pilgrimage that sees you going forward in the path of progress and development. And king David having experienced it in his life, describes thus the God who even today, raises you up in life. ‘Yours O Lord is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom O Lord, and you are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from you O Lord, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might; and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all’. [1 Chronicles 29:11,12] God is the Head over all. He is the Leader, and it is in His leadership that grace takes you from where you are to where He wants you to be.
God’s leadership and His dealings in your life
Being led by God is to be led by the Spirit of God and not by your feelings and circumstances. They who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. And having received Christ Jesus into our hearts as our Lord and Savior, you and I are His sons and daughters today, with the privilege of crying out ‘Abba Father’ unto Him. And God speaks thus about His very own special people, His chosen ones, through the prophet Isaiah ‘I will lead the blind in a way they do not know; by paths they do not know I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the crooked places straight. These are the things I will do and I will not forsake them. [Isaiah 42:16] In the unfamiliar territories of life, God promises to lead the blind. He also specifies who the blind are.
Who are the blind ?
Who is blind but my servant; or deaf like my messenger whom I send ? Who is blind like my dedicated one, or blind like the servant of the Lord ? He sees many things but does not observe them; His ears are open, but he does not hear. [Isaiah 42:19,20] They are God’s people who can physically see and hear, but are blinded to the vision of God for their lives.
What is it that blinds them ?
a) Money
It can so easily blind people, as it did the prophet Balaam. He was not unspiritual, but his love for money blinded him. He was unable therefore to hear God’s voice, or see God’s vision for his life.
b) Pride
The attitude of an arrogant ‘know-it-all’, can blind a person, leading him to lean on his own understanding, and not in the settled word of God, and His vision that is far higher and greater.
c) Deception
It can be the cause of being blinded. And self deception is the most dangerous, for the person being deceived is unaware of it himself. In a world that is fallen, all these can happen even to the people of God, blinding them to God’s plan and purposes for their lives. But the loving God never gives up.
How does God deal with the blind ?
To the one who insists on going on his own way, trusting in his own understanding, God would be perfectly just and right, had He left him to his own devices. But if He had done so in your life and mine, not a single person would be seated in the presence of God today, reveling in His love and enjoying His favor. For there is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death, the pit, the place of destruction. Death separates you from the promises of God only to land you in problems.
What was it then, that stopped God ?
It is the sheer grace of God, and His overwhelming love that sees you seated in the heavenly realms instead, this day and forever. It is His unmerited favor upon His own special people, who willfully chose to be blind and deaf to the repeated call of God that came to them through His prophets. How can I give you up, O Ephraim ?, the Lord says [Hosea 11:8], addressing each and every child of God. And He also goes on to declare For I am God, and no mortal; the Holy one in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. [vs 9] A mere man may give up; but God will not. He is God in your life; and nothing will separate you from His love that is in you through Christ Jesus. He has surrounded you with cords of love, God’s word goes on to say. It is a love that is much greater than your faith in Him. But for His eternal, unfailing love, you and I would have perished long ago. And it is in love that He leads and guides, whatever the situation may be, even in the unknown and unfamiliar territories of life.
The unknown and the unfamiliar
In life, what you know and can control, is very little when compared to the unknown, what you cannot control. But the omniscient God is always in complete control. And He is the God who promises to lead and guide you in ways you do not know, and in paths that you are not familiar with, when everything seems meaningless and just vanity.
All is not vanity
An ever changing world that is seemingly unfair, led even the wisest man in the world, Solomon, when he was led astray from the path of God to declare in disillusionment that ‘all is vanity’. But it is not so. For, God is in control, and therefore everything has meaning. It is why the apostle Paul is able to say with confident certainty ‘I am what I am by the grace of God’. And God will never force you. The choice lies with you today, to align your thinking to either vain philosophy or the eternal truth.
1) Learning from the life of Job
From being a prince to a pauper, Job’s life became painfully empty in a single day, for no fault of his. It was not just material wealth that he lost, but also his health and his precious loved ones. [Job chapter 1] Sad it truly is, but though it is about tragedy and loss, it is for edification and instruction, that it finds a place in the written word of God. For, maybe not so intensely or suddenly, but unexpected and tragic loss can sometimes suddenly erupt in life, even though you are a child of God. And then, when questions arise in your mind to plague you, it is then that you can learn valuable lessons from the response of Job, and more importantly from the answers of God.
In unfamiliar territory
Though He may slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my ways before Him. [Job 13:15] In the midst of his troubles, Job still trusted God, but he also had questions to ask of God, honest doubts that arose in his mind. It is something that anyone can identify with, especially a person who has found his world come crashing down suddenly. But, God was still in control, Job came to know subsequently, and more importantly, He was still able to lead and guide him. It was a life changing truth that Job received from the Lord after confusing explanations came to him from his friends. The explanations of man in times of crisis, invariably lead to more complications.
Needed – God’s revelation, not man’s explanation
Suffering people need a word of comfort and encouragement, not added complications. The explanation of man to a person in trouble, invariably stems from the philosophy that dictates – If you do what is good, you will receive good things. Therefore, bad things happening in your life, is because you have done what is not right and good. Job was engulfed in misery after listening to his friends. But, then revelation of truth came as God answered Job out of the whirlwind, coming straight to the point
‘Prepare yourself like a man’
‘Now, prepare yourself like a man, I will question you, and you shall answer me’. [Job 38:3] God thus began in an argumentative mode and you can also rest assured that He will win any argument that is thrown at Him. He speaks through the prophet Isaiah, ‘Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord; though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow’. [Isaiah 1:18] God responded to Job’s questions with questions of His own, seventy seven of them. They revealed to Job the limitedness of his own knowledge, and also the vastness of the knowledge and power of the Almighty God. Therefore, acknowledging his limitedness, Job replied, See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you ? I lay my hand on my mouth. [Job 40;3,4] He knew that he needed to be quiet. For he understood that God was in control even in the unknown and unfamiliar paths, and so, nothing can upset the plan of God for his life.
From questions and doubts to confident confession
Job realized that what was beyond his limited human control was well within God’s control. And it led him now to open his mouth to speak proclaiming the magnificence of God, saying unto Him, I know that you can do all things, and no plan of yours can be thwarted. [Job 42:2] Life and death are in the power of the tongue, God’s word declares. It is important therefore to keep quiet when needed, but also to confess the right word to establish what is right and true.
And when you call out to Him, God promises to answer
‘Call unto Me’ and I will answer you and tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. [Jeremiah 33:3] The key is to call upon God, instead of speaking to people, who can never grasp or know the full picture of your need or pain. But God knows it all, and He will reveal to you what you need to know, give you the understanding of the truth to lead you in the unfamiliar territory. Are you talking to God, or to speculators, who with their varied opinions only confuse you further ?
2) Jeremiah’s situation
The context of God’s call to Jeremiah is given in the first verse of the chapter, The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still confined in the court of the guard”. Jeremiah had been unjustly punished, and was in prison for doing what was right. And one can easily imagine and identify with the troubled, questioning soul of a person going through such a situation. It was in this path, which to Jeremiah was so unfamiliar, that God reached out to him, beckoning him to call upon Him. You have such a wonderful God.
He will reveal
In your unknown and unfamiliar territory, God will reveal to you through His Spirit and His word, what He has already prepared for you. And He has prepared it all for you before mortal man. [Psalms 31:19] You will taste His goodness in the land of the living. All you need to do is call unto Him, to hear His answer in the word of God, to be led and guided by Him in the unknown ways and unfamiliar paths of your life.
3) Israelites led towards spiritual progress in unfamiliar territory
He humbled you by letting you hunger, and then by feeding you with manna which neither you nor your ancestors knew, in order to make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord. [Deuteronomy 8:3] These are the words of Moses to the Israelites. What was a lesson to them is a lesson to every child of God, even now. God allows you to hunger, make some mistakes in life only that you may learn that you are not in control; and He steps in to lead you in ways unknown to you, that you may learn that man lives by every word that comes from God.
4) In ways unknown – the provision of manna
In unfamiliar territory, God fed His people with what was hitherto unknown to them; the word ‘manna’ itself meant, ‘what is this ?’ ‘Man does not live by bread alone …’ was a known promise to the Israelites, but it was fulfilled by God in unknown ways. He will do the same in your life too, in your unfamiliar territory. In your time of trouble, financial lack maybe, He may give you the same word of promise that carried you through your earlier time of need, but the way He fulfills it now maybe entirely different. And the people whom you expect to help you, may not – but when you look to God, you will receive. Therefore, trust people, but expect from God. He will do beyond all your expectations. He is not also confined by your human ideas and speculations. God is unlimited, and He can fulfill your need in whatever way He wants, and wherever He wants even when you find yourself in barren, unfamiliar territory.
5) The disciples guided in their unfamiliar path
The disciples were accustomed to the Master always being with them to teach and guide them. Therefore, being sent by the Lord to proclaim the good news of the kingdom, without Him to lead them, was definitely unfamiliar territory. And as he sent them on this unfamiliar path, the Lord said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag nor bread, nor money not even, an extra tunic. [Luke 9-3] The truth that He was teaching them through this was, ‘Trust me, trust my word and move forward’, even in unfamiliar territory. For much later, He recollects the same incident to the disciples, and also adds what took place in their venture into unfamiliar path, ‘Yet, you did not lack anything’. [Luke 22:35] Even in your life, you do not need a blue print, have everything mapped out. It is not how faith works and you walk by faith, not by sight. Only trust His word and believe that He will certainly lead and guide you in the unfamiliar paths of your life. For you have a God who is faithful to His word, and is always in complete control.
6) In unknown ways – the provision of God
The incident maybe familiar, but by His grace that is new every day, and through His Spirit, the Lord desires to speak into your life what is beneficial and good. Jesus said to Philip, ‘where are we to buy bread for these people to eat ?’ He said this to test him, for He Himself knew what He was going to do. [John 6:5,6] His question to Philip was just to test him. Jesus knew what He was going to do. He knows too, how He is going to satisfy your need and bless you with abundant provision. There was little available on that day to feed the multitude, but there was also a God who was in control. He said to the disciples, Have the people sit down, [recline and relax], for there was much grass there. [vs 10] Though the situation was unknown and unfamiliar, the Lord had the people sit down and relax. And then they received from His Hand abundant provision.
Relax and rest in His presence – to receive
In repentance and rest shall be your salvation; and in quietness and confidence shall be your strength. [Isaiah 30:15] Repentance in this context would be a change of mind that comes as a result of knowing that God will certainly do it; and therefore a settling down in complete dependence and trust in Him, in an attitude of quietness and confidence. He knows it all and as you relax and rest, you receive.
Thanksgiving and blessing
And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down, and also of the fish, as much as they wanted. [John 6:11] In giving thanks the Lord blessed the food in his hand, pronouncing prosperity, and the power to prosper over what He offered up in grateful thanks.
Thanking and praising
Learning from the Savior, it is the principle that you always need to practice – thanking God for what you have, and praising Him for what you are going to have, the greater blessing that He has already prepared for you. For, the multitude of five thousand men, along with more women and children, ate and were satisfied, all in the midst of a barren land. There was more than enough, twelve basketfuls that remained and that is our God!
The God of abundance
You have a God who is in full control, and He is already working on your behalf. He is your Father in heaven, who loves and cares for you. Give thanks unto the Father, for you can come boldly into His presence to obtain grace and mercy. He provides help in time of need, through the new and living Way Jesus. He will lead and guide you in unknown ways and in the unfamiliar paths. He is determined to do so. In His mighty and glorious Name, Amen.
