The Way Forward

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Behold, I am going to do something new. Now it will spring up. Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. 
— Isaiah 43:19 NASB

It feels good to sit down and “return to the vineyard.” This blog is the place where God clarified His prompting for me to write. Over the last several months, I have been working on a book that is close to printing, entitled Even Though, Either Way (more on this later). It has occupied time and space, and when that project came to a conclusion, I began to write my first novel, which is well on its way. Exciting and fruitful times, for sure. But if I am honest, it is also frustrating. Projects take longer than I think. They take up head space and attention span, inhibiting my ability to give full attention to other projects. There have been many moments of “what is happening?” or “God, are you sure this is what I am supposed to do?” I had become accustomed to the short-term details of the blog, but a twelve-chapter book called for more attention and endurance than I had ever been challenged with. Once I started, there was no shortcut, no option to stop. Physically, I stopped writing at times, but the thinking, the ideas, the phrasing, the direction, and the prompting and nudges of God and His Spirit couldn’t be quieted. So the project became the result of getting through, because getting out wasn’t an option. I thoroughly enjoyed writing it, and it was a joy to complete. But though this was about a book project, it wasn’t the first time in my relationship with God that I encountered the dilemma of looking for a shortcut.

Life has a way of bringing opportunities to challenge our perseverance. From learning to walk to learning to walk with a cane, the gear of life put in place by my Creator is forward. However, that doesn’t mean God never moves me forward by moving me out. The important thing for me to remember is that the direction of OUT — what I like to call the EXIT sign — needs to be written in God’s handwriting, not mine. I have to admit that most of my challenges have been met with getting through, not getting out, despite my desire at times to be a quitter. These are the areas in my walk of faith where I have grown the most. God has stretched my faith, my endurance to hope, my ability to embrace peace through His faithfulness to see me through. Even when my trust was shaky and weak, God met me in my weakness and doubt. Scripture tells me God delights in providing strength to the weak. Jesus did not condemn Thomas or turn away from him in his doubt; rather, Christ turned toward Thomas and offered His own scars to arrest doubt and confirm faith.

Looking back, I am reminded of opportunities I would have missed if God had delivered me “out” rather than seeing me “through.” Physically, I wanted out of Michigan for years, though it was my home and a good life there. I had beloved friends, but still my heart was restless — I wanted to be near my parents. However, I never made it to Tennessee. Rather, the Lord taught me to be patient for His timing. I learned contentment and became more open to a different destination while I waited to move near Dad and Mama. God brought us nearer to them by directing us to South Carolina, and soon after we moved, my brother, mom, and dad all passed away within a short period of time. But because God saw me through the move, by the time of their deaths I was settled in South Carolina — well established in a home, a church, and a career. I thank God often that His will was to see me through in Michigan, not get me out when I wanted Him to. Today, Tennessee would be empty and painful without their presence. I am more at home here than I have been anywhere in my life. I miss Michigan and the people there, but I have peace knowing I am in the center of Jesus’ plan for my life in South Carolina. I laugh and say my relocation was the time the Lord did both — moved me out and saw me through.

I can think back on times I wanted to be out of ministry. Sometimes I faced opposition for leading and teaching as a woman. But rather than deliver me out of conflict, the Lord sent solid pastors and their wives who mentored me. They encouraged me, helped discipline my study of the Bible, and provided opportunities for me to lead and teach under their direction. I grew in knowledge, wisdom, and diplomacy during that time. Doors of opportunity opened. The Lord saw me through every time I spoke or taught. He multiplied His harvest of people and souls for the kingdom — not to mention blessed me with deep, lasting friendships with those I ministered with and to. Those relationships, forged there, have stood the test of time through all these years.

In my field of work, I saw many patients who wanted out of pain — people who desired deliverance from stroke, trauma, illness, and other physical challenges. As part of my job, I helped people get through, and I watched them do it. Sometimes folks got out, but death wasn’t the option most willingly chose. I saw dozens of people heal and return to their lives, but it was the result of getting through — often over long periods of time.

All of us have struggled, or watched loved ones and friends battle marital conflict, trouble at work or in the neighborhood, raising kids, financial woes, in-laws, outlaws, church. Who hasn’t prayed the “get me out” prayer over something, at some point? When I read Scripture, I see lots of people in desperate situations, and I realize more and more that I am an Israelite at heart. What do I mean by this? Israel and I share some of the same patterns. The nation of Israel had cycles of rebellion and disobedience followed by discipline from the Lord. When the nation was taken captive by the Babylonians and went into exile, God’s words of prophecy were ringing in their ears — He had warned them repeatedly through the prophets. God, in very clear language, described how at some point He would get them out, but until then He would see them through. When the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years, He saw them through. When they went into slavery for four hundred years, at the right time God brought them out. God’s desire was always for the nation to be in relationship with Him and follow His ways and obey His word.

For me, I recognize that some situations I have found myself in are the result of poor choices — maybe made out of pride or from a place of selfish rebellion. But the Lord, in mercy and faithfulness, saw me through and brought restoration along the way. Some things I have faced have been at the hand of others’ choices. Some things are simply a result of living on planet Earth, which, by the way, God reminds me all the time — I live in a broken world.

I can’t help but think of what Henry Blackaby wrote in his study Experiencing God: “You can’t go with God and stay where you are.” Moving forward requires faith. Today’s scripture reminds me the Lord makes the way. I love the question the Lord asks through Isaiah: “Will you be aware of it? Will you see the road I am preparing in the middle of everything?” Often I don’t see it, and many times I don’t even pray about the way through. Why? Because deep in my heart I know that to follow God, I can’t, as Henry said, “stay where I am.” To move forward — to choose the road Jesus provides — my selfish desire for comfort will be challenged. Moving forward, I may have to leave behind ways of thinking, habits, even people or a place, to follow Christ. However, there has never been a time when the Lord has led me that has not ultimately worked out for His glory and my good. Let me say this: my understanding of the road or the timing may not be explained until I meet Christ face to face. I like to think I will be so overwhelmed by His presence and joy that all of my “whys” will melt away, cast into His sea of forgetfulness.

Today, maybe you are like me, waiting for God to make a way in the wilderness. I can’t help but think of John the Baptist, who was imprisoned for speaking truth to King Herod about his unlawful marriage. John had preached the good news of the coming of Christ. He was committed to Christ and baptized Jesus. He had obeyed God’s calling. Then he finds himself in prison and begins to have doubts. John is definitely in a get-out-or-get-through circumstance. So he sends word to Jesus, asking the ultimate question: “Are you the one we have been waiting for?” This is an amazing question, reflecting a challenged faith. John wants to know if the circumstances he finds himself in are worth the followership. I am pretty confident John is expecting a get-out-of-jail rescue, based on all that he believes about Christ and the kingdom of God. Jesus sends word back through messengers: “Tell John — the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, and the poor receive good news.” The interpretation: “Yes, John, I am the Messiah.”

Then Jesus instructs His followers not to be offended, because His ministry looks different from the fiery judgment and government overthrow His followers wanted. John’s adjustment to how the kingdom was being manifested is apparent in his question. John’s human expectations would go unmet, but Christ’s promise about all He had come to do would be fully met and fulfilled through His death, burial, and resurrection. We know from Scripture that John doesn’t get out — he is later beheaded by Herod. Sobering, but true. My own expectations about the road in the wilderness look different from the heavenly side than from the earthly, limited perspective. For John, his rescue was heaven. John’s assignment was finished, and John entered eternal reward. The plans of our Lord — His civil engineering, His road work — will prompt our humanity to wrestle with His timing and outcomes. We may question God’s code of justice and reward when the path in the wilderness is not what we want or expect.

Today, I am convicted by this, and by the words of our Lord: “Whoever follows after Me must deny himself, lay down his life, and pick up his cross and follow Me.” The plain truth is, I have to confess that usually I am praying for a superhighway — you know, one with lots of comfortable rest areas and breaks along the way — not a dirt road in the wilderness. The only way to be aware of, and to follow, God’s path — out or through — is by the strength of the Holy Spirit living inside of me. Either way, I am never separated from the Lord and His great love for me. He is ever-present in my journey. Self-discipline and a follow-through attitude will only take me so far. I must have my spirit, heart, and strength changed in order to obey. Scripture assures us that God’s ways are higher, but they are also better for us.

Wherever you are — if you need an exit, or need to get through — remember Jesus said, “I am the Way.” Remember Christ said, “I am the Door.” He oversees our comings and goings. He is our way out; He is our way through. He still makes roads in the wilderness and travels with us, often carrying us when we can’t make the way forward ourselves.

Lord, I admit that when life gets hard, many times I just want out of my situations. Help me to embrace Your strength and the blessings that come from following You through the things I face. Give me the vision I need to see the road You have made in all my wildernesses. Remind me that the day is coming when all who have called on Your name will be together, and we will sing the song and praise of how You brought us through. For You, Jesus, are worthy — You alone. Till then, fill us with hope that the road may be hard, but the more we travel it with You, the sweeter it will get.

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