Series: The Word
Psalm 16:11 ESV
Psalm 16:9-11 The Message
Understanding how to trust God/Jesus with our path in life is easy, and it’s really hard.
It’s easy when we’ve been in a spot in life where we had absolutely no where to turn and we were desperate.
When that’s the case and you’re up against a wall you have to trust God. That’s because you don’t have any other options.
I’ve been in that place twice. Some would say I must have missed the lesson the first time. That might be true.
The first time I was up against the wall I lost everything. That wasn’t the hard part. What was really difficult is that I didn’t know why. I didn’t know what happened. It felt like all the dominos were stack up one day and the next day they all fell down.
It had probably been brewing for a while but I didn’t know it was brewing.
At the time I was confused and I didn’t understand. I remember praying and asking God to tell me what happened. God did not tell me. Looking back, I realize that I didn’t really need to know. Because there were so many unknown elements all I could do was to turn to God and surrender.
It’s like this…
There was a girl who was once caught in a terrible storm (a hurricane) and everything around her was crumbling. She was afraid she wouldn’t survive. She knew the destruction was going to be terrible.
Then she found a small cave and she went inside. She could hear the storm outside the cave and she knew it was a really bad storm, but she trusted God to take care of her.
She didn’t have any other choice. She had no where else to go but to God.
In the cave and found rocks to place at the entrance of the cave. Once the entrance was covered with large rocks, she built a spot inside the cave where she could be comfortable. Then, she prayed and waited for the storm to pass.
When the storm subsided she was able to dig out and slowly remove the rocks that had protected her.
When she stepped outside the cave she saw massive damage. The storm had cleared away almost everything. Her house was gone. All of her new expensive furniture was gone. She found a few things she could still use to rebuild her life. Thankfully, her old car was still there and it still ran.
She was really grateful that God had protected and provide her with a car so she could go to work.
Piece by piece and inch by inch she was able to see how she could move forward.
God took care of her every step of the way.
God cleared a path for her.
Psalm 16:11 told her, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
As the girl rebuilt her life, she could look back and she could see how God had carefully orchestrated her way on the path.
Even though her path was very different and she no longer had her big new house and expensive furniture, she was ever so grateful that God opened doors for her to buy a small new place where she would be safe.
Month by month, year after year she trusted God to help her rebuild her life.
Because of the storm her old church was gone and God sent her to a new church.
She made new friends, and oh my they were faithful friends.
God opened doors so she could serve others who needed to heal from the storm. God opened doors for her that were quite unexpected. Sometimes she was a little afraid, but when that happened she would remember that God had taken care of her when the terrible storm came and God would not fail her now.
The girl was ever so grateful that God took care of her. She had a new home, a new church, and new friends.
Psalm 16:9-11 from The Message explains how she felt:
“I’m happy from the inside out, and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.You canceled my ticket to hell— that’s not my destination!
Now you’ve got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face.Ever since you took my hand, I’m on the right way.”
Eventually, the girl was really alright.
She was happy again.
She was glad God held onto her and saved her.
God put her on a new path where she could see God’s shining light that went before her. Through it all she knew God was holding her hand and had guided her to the new path that had been prepared for her.
Spiritual Practice: The Storm
When the storm comes (or has come) know God is watching out for you on your path.
In God, Deborah
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