I was reading the other day and came across these words in
Mark 16:6-7 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter. ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’
This reminded me of the many times we are told in scripture that the Lord goes before us. I needed that reminder today.

What joy and assurance these words must have given the disciples when they heard them. Knowing that the Lord would be waiting when they got where they were going. They had arrived at his burial place and found him gone, at that moment all hope must have been sucked out of them and a kind of loneliness may have suddenly fallen on them, but hearing those words must have made their hearts beat faster and joy start returning to their otherwise sad and confusing day.

I read also in Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” And then in Deuteronomy 1:30 “The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you…”

Does that make your heart feel as happy and full of joy as it does mine?
Life can sometimes roll over us like a wave in the ocean, knocking us down and digging our faces in the sand. We feel out of sorts. It is hard for us to get our “sea legs” under us. But God has told us he is with us through every trial, nothing touches us that God is not in it. And when things seem to be going in the wrong direction, we can rest assured they are going according to His plan. We may not understand it, we may not like it, we may feel we have had our fill of sand, but God…

He is already way ahead of us, He is already smoothing out our path and filling us with all we need for whatever lays ahead of us. We can rest in knowing that He has things well in hand and He has a reason for everything he does. I read in Psalm 139:5-6 these words: “You hem me in-behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” God is with me through every trial I go through. He is loving, guiding, helping and even protecting me through it. It may feel out of control and I may not be able to discern his touch always, but make no mistake, He is right there with you. Every tear you shed, every hard day you have, God is with you. He has chosen these moments not to break us, but to draw us ever closer to him. We see in these moments how desperately we need him in our lives and every situation.

I am reminding myself of these truths as I walk through my rough patch of ground. I want to lean in close and listen for anything and everything he is teaching me. Sometimes we see what is in front of us and we want to dig our heels in and say no…please don’t make me, but he gently urges us to trust him and to stand up straight, gird our loins and put on our armor and walk like a soldier of the Lord as we should. Eyes fixed on him, not the problem, heart tuned to hear anything he commands and our faith, fully functioning and even blossoming all while we trudge through the muck and mire.

Sometimes all it takes for our faith legs to get strong once again is the touch and prayer of another believer. Someone to come along beside you and cheer you on, speak truth over you and listen to you for just a moment. And knowing that God has blessed me as I go…well, that is enough, isn’t it?

Maybe you needed to be encouraged as I did today, I hope you will let the Lord’s blessing spur you on and you will keep your heart and mind fixed on him knowing he is already where you are going and he also is watching your back, He is such a good God and you can trust he has your good in mind as you go, give him the glory and honor due him, wait and see what God will do!