The Rugged Road
“He leads me in paths of
righteousness...” —Psalm 23:3
Some years ago, a fishing
buddy of mine told me about an alpine lake located high on the north flank of
Jug Handle Mountain here in Idaho. Rumor had it that large cutthroat trout
lurked up there. He got a pencil and scrap of napkin and drew a map for me. Several
weeks later I gassed up my truck and set out to follow his directions.
His map put me on one of the worst roads I’ve ever
driven! It was an old logging road that had been bulldozed through the forest
and never re-graded. Washouts, fallen timber, deep ruts and large rocks
battered my spine and bent the undercarriage of my truck. It took half a
morning to reach my destination and when I finally arrived I asked myself, “Why
would a friend send me up that road?”
But the lake was magnificent
and the fish were indeed large and scrappy! My friend had put me on the right
road, one I would have chosen myself and patiently endured had I known what I
knew at the end.
Here’s a faithful
saying: God leads us on the right path (Psalm 23:3). Some of his
paths are rough and rugged; others tedious and tiring. Yet when we come to the
end of our journey and know what we then will know, we will say, “God’s
path was best for me.”
He
chose this path for thee;
Though
well he knew sharp thorns would pierce thy feet,
Knew
how the brambles would obstruct the way,
Knew
all the hidden dangers thou wouldst meet,
Knew
how thy faith would falter day by day;
And
still the whisper echoed, ‘Yes, I see
This
path is best for thee.’
He
chose this path for thee;
What
needst thou more? This sweeter truth to know,
That
all along these strange, bewildering ways,
O’er
rocky steeps and where dark rivers flow,
His
loving arms will bear thee all the days.
A
few steps more, and thou thyself shalt see
This
path is best for thee.
David Roper
E-musings are archived at http://davidroper.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment