No Maps
Wherever he leads, I’ll go. (I’ll gooooo . . .)
Something someone said the other day brought the chorus of
that old hymn to mind. I haven’t heard that in years – decades probably. It was
an invitation hymn, one of a handful that we cycled through in my childhood
church, so I heard it often.
[Moving up a third] Wherever he leads, I’ll go. (I’ll
goooooo . . .)
That parenthetical echo was the lower voices in the
congregation who knew how to read music and harmonize. In particular, there’s a
certain voice I hear in my memory of a gentleman with a booming bass who seemed
to groan that syllable, stretching it out to eternity, bless his heart.
I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so . . .
But if Christ really “loves me so,” then following wherever
he leads should not be drudgery the way singing that song was. I mean, yes –
sometimes he leads us through dark, heavy places. Lord KNOWS I’m aware of that.
And when we’re in those valleys, a somber rendition of this chorus may be
fitting.
But for me most days, I’m not struggling with being in a
valley at the moment – it’s that I don’t know what valleys are ahead of me. Or
mountaintops. Or obstacle courses. I want a map, please. I want an
agenda. It is painful sometimes to take forward steps without knowing what’s coming.
I’m reading a biography of George Mueller for my book club
this month. Y’all need to read up on this man. He established several orphanages
with the express intent of not just caring for orphans, but of being “a
practical demonstration as to what could be accomplished simply through the
instrumentality of prayer and faith.” He didn’t charge for services. He never
asked for donations. He never publicly let anybody know when there was a need
at any of the homes, and he forbade the people working with him to do so
either. He simply prayed – and God met the needs. People would suddenly feel
the call to give . . . often exactly the amount needed at just the perfect time.
The first story I heard about him years ago just amazed me. At one home,
there was no food for that morning’s breakfast. None. But Mueller led the
children through a prayer of thanks for the food they were about to receive . .
. and a knock came at the door. It was the baker, who had gotten up at 2am because
the Lord told him they needed bread. And immediately after he left came a knock
from a milkman, whose cart broke down outside the orphanage and wanted to give
them his milk so he could repair the wagon.
SO awesome, yes?
Now, if this were me, if I did not know from day to
day how my needs were going to be met, I would be pleading for mercy from the
Lord to carry me through this terrible dark valley. But what if isn’t a valley
at all? What if that’s entirely the wrong perspective?
What if I stopped seeing uncertainty as a trial – but rather
as an opportunity? What if I really believed that God loves me and intends to
take care of me and has a plan for me? What if, instead of fretting, I started
looking with excited anticipation to see what amazing thing God was going to do
next?
Yeah, that would be cool. And no, I am not there yet. Not even
close.
But I might be willing for God to take me there. Maybe. I’m
at least willing to try to change my attitude about the paths he puts me on.
This isn’t punishment. This isn’t trial. This isn’t a test of my faith. This is
giving me an awesome experience – a powerful testimony – a great story to share
with the world someday. Maybe instead of people saying, “Oh, I’m so sorry you
went through that horrible thing,” people will say, “That is so COOL that God
did that amazing thing!”
Life with Christ is an ADVENTURE. At least that’s what George
Mueller tells me. So . . .
Wherever he leads, I’ll goooooooo.
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