LED by God

by Nancy Blackman

These last few months have been the strangest time I have ever lived through. The coronavirus pandemic has brought fear and anxiety to much of the world and we have experienced an unprecedented economic shutdown for much of that time. We don’t know how much longer this is going to last or what we should do next. Just when it seems like things are getting better, there is another setback that keeps us from resuming our normal lives.

But do you know what? God isn’t surprised by this, and He knows exactly what’s happening. In fact, I would go even so far as to say that He is leading each and every one of us during this time.

In Psalm 23 King David says that the Lord “leads me beside the still waters…. He leads me in the paths of righteousness.” Then in verse 4, he says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” But how did David get into that valley in the first place? God led him! Paths of righteousness are not always the easiest way to go, but God is with us and even engineers the route.

In Matthew 4, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. This was a hard time of testing for Jesus, but it was all part of God’s plan.

When the Israelites left Egypt, God told them to camp by the Red Sea (Exodus 14). This seemed like a good plan until the Egyptian soldiers pursued them and they were trapped! But God knew all along what He was doing. He opened the Red Sea and they all safely crossed over! Unfortunately, the Israelites continued to doubt God, which resulted in forty years of wandering in the wilderness, but in Deuteronomy 29:5 God said, “And I have led you forty years in the wilderness.” Even though they had been disobedient and it seemed like they were going in circles, God was still with them, leading them the whole time!

Many years later, when the Israelites were getting ready to leave their exile in Babylonia, God promised that they would “go out with joy, and be led out with peace” (Isaiah 55:12). This is our promise too, that we would have joy and peace wherever God is leading us!

Finally, 2 Corinthians 2:14 promises that God “always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” The promise is not just for us, but for others! As other people see our confident trust in God, they will want to know and follow Him too.

God is faithful to not only get us through the hardest times of our lives, but we can live victoriously and joyfully, knowing that everything we are going through is part of His plan. We don’t know how much longer this pandemic and its effects will last, but we can be confident that God is with us and leading us every step of the way!!!