Safe in His Leading

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. . . . Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. —Psalm 23:1–4, KJV

I sang “God Leads Us Along,” by G. A. Young, for special music at church, and the words really penetrated my heart, as music often does.

The song shares how all of us have good times and bad.

We can feel God’s leading in all types of situations.

He is our Good Shepherd who leads us into shady, green pastures or along the mountaintop where the sun shines so brightly. However, there are times when we go through the waters, the flood, and the fire. I think of the children of Israel as they waited anxiously on the shores of the Red Sea as Pharaoh’s army barreled down on them, or Noah and his family as they waited for the rain after the door of the ark was closed. What about the three Hebrew boys who faced the fiery furnace when they refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s statue? And then there is Joseph and all the sorrows he faced with his brothers selling him into slavery.

Potiphar’s wife falsely accusing him of rape resulted in Joseph spending years in an Egyptian prison. The Bible is full of these kinds of troubles.

But as the song reminds us, no matter what we are going through, we are also all going through the blood. Yes, the blood of Jesus! Without His sacrifice, we would not have any hope for the future or for eternal life with Him in heaven.

Without His sacrifice, we would not be able to pass through these troubling times in our lives. He is our God, our strength, and our song! The disciples knew this when they found themselves in a boat on the Sea of Galilee in the middle of the worst storm they had ever experienced (see Luke 8:23–25). They believed they were going to drown.

Yet all they had to do was call on the name of Jesus.

When they did, He rebuked the wind and the raging waters, and “the storm subsided” (Luke 8:24, NIV). Are you facing the waters, the flood, or the fire today? Amid any troubles, Jesus is there. Our prayers do not need to be wordy or fancy.

Simply calling out the name of Jesus is a powerful, eloquent prayer. He will hear and answer according to His will and plan for our lives.

When we trust Him—He will put a song of praise in our hearts.

Karen M. Phillips