“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths.”
(Prov. 3:5-6)
Every morning I used to make a treacherous journey of about 20 miles through the awesome green countryside of Kentucky. The road that I drove was narrow, curvy, and full of surprises. Every little hill had the potential to hide a slow tractor, livestock, or a sleepy driver across the center-line. There was hardly a week that my life didn’t flash before me at least once as I’d have another close call on that road. One day, it was especially dangerous. The road was hidden in a thick fog. I slowed down, realizing that I had very little visibility. I was fortunate in that I was able to follow the lights of the large truck in front of me. Normally, when there was no fog, I would have passed the slower vehicle, but this day I was grateful for this big, slow moving vehicle. I just let him lead the way through the fog.
Life is full of winding roads that suddenly may take us through miles of fog where there is little visibility. We call them trials, struggles, or bad times in our lives. We begin to have that ominous feeling of worry that other bad things are going to happen. Nothing seems to make sense. Fear incapacitates us. We feel a deep sense that our efforts to change things are futile. We want to just pull over to the side and wait until the fog lifts or just drive faster and faster so that we can get to the other side sooner. What we really need is a good set of tail-lights to follow. We need something or someone in front of us, leading us safely through the fog.
Almighty God drives a big truck! We can trust Him to lead us through the fog. He knows every hill and bend in the road. From God’s vantage point, He can see the road ahead and He knows exactly where He is leading us. Our greatest struggle is to live, satisfied with His leading - and just to trust Him. This is such an unnatural experience for us. We are not very comfortable with following. We are in a hurry to reach our destination, even though we usually aren’t sure where or what that is. We look for shortcuts or ways around the fog - only to find that there are none.
Following God’s tail-lights (so to speak) is quite a challenge, but I am beginning to realize that it is the safest and most effective strategy for life - especially since we are completely powerless to change the fog or the circumstances around us.
God help us keep your tail-lights in sight!
Be encouraged,
Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers and his wife Debi served as Southern Baptist missionaries to Venezuela from 1984-1988. Mike has also served as a pastor for over 20 years, in Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida. He is the author of
Experiencing God in Your Workplace: The Kingdom Agenda, along with his wife, Debi. A Viet Nam veteran (USMC) and former corporate trainer, Mike currently works as a real estate broker-associate with Charlie Earhart Realty in Dunedin, FL and owns a pain relief footwear business.
