the journey.

deuteronomy 31:6,8 "'be strong and courageous. do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the lord your god goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you...the lord himself goes before you and will be with you...do not be discouraged.'"

lately, i feel like i am on a "journey" of sorts. i suppose all of life is this way, but i kind of feel that i'm currently at an in between stage. i'm not sure how exactly to describe it, but i was reminded of the israelites this morning and their exodus from egypt.

that was certainly a journey as well. it had its ups and downs, its challenging points and times where the promised future seemed bleak or uncertain. there were even times where the israelites wanted to go back to being enslaved in egypt because, although unpleasant and even downright terrible, it was known, and known feels "safer." however, in spite of the israelites' questions, concerns, doubts, and accusations, there was never a moment where god was not in absolute control. no matter how complainy and disobedient they were, god never removed his presence from their midst. he gave them the cloud to lead them by day and the pillar of fire to lead them by night. he didn't abandon them to their own devices no matter how unpleasant they were. praise god for his abounding love and inexhaustable grace. i seriously don't know what i would do without it. i don't think i could exist.

after pondering all this for a moment, i kind of felt like the lord was saying, "lisa, i haven't brought you this far to abandon you." in my heart, i know that this is true, but sometimes temporal circumstances cloud this reality. this is where faith comes into play. faith is so hard at times but so crucial. god truly does have a plan, and he is faithful to complete the works that he begins. this is something i can bank on.

lord, thank you for your faithfulness to me, especially in times of difficulty or uncertainty. praise you that you are faithful to the uttermost and that you will never, ever, under any circumstance leave nor forsake me. praise you that you have a plan and your plan is good. thank you that even though you don't remove all obstacles, you provide the strength and ability to overcome them. you, lord, are good. with you, all things are possible. give me the strength to move forward in you. in your name, amen.