His Plans!

And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not;

I will lead them in paths that they have not known:

I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight.

These things will I do unto them,

and not forsake them.

Isaiah 42: 16

This verse stood out to me as one that offered much needed encouragement. So many people struggle with following God through the unknown--perhaps young adults fight with this uncertainty even more so. The intense pressure of needing a specific direction, the confusion in planning events, the waiting while groping for a hint of a pathway; these all can lead to a season of tension and anxiety. Some of us have a fairly specific direction laid out for the next couple years. Others live from month to month, while still others have no idea what lies ahead in the next day. 

Many times it appears like we're walking on an untrodden path--and in many ways we are. Each of us has a radically different life plan in some way or another, but there are some stages of life that almost everybody else has passed through. And for those who love to plan out--to a large or small degree--the details in their life, this can be a trying time because there ends up being so much uncertainty. Yet, even in that uncertainty, God still promises four things from Isaiah 42:16. This verse is written primarily to God's chosen people--the Israelites, but I think it offers consolation to the rest of God's children, as well.  

1. And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not;

God leads those who are blind through the ways that they don't know about. We are sometimes completely blind to future events, opportunities, failures, successes, and life decisions. God promises to bring us through all of that. Not just showing us what to do and pointing out the way. No, He brings us through it. He's walking beside us, guiding our footsteps and keeping our hearts fixed on Him. To those who are blind, He gives His sight. Leading them on the King's Highway, He brings them to their heavenly home where they can look back and see life's road--that was formerly so dark--stretched out perfectly before them. 

2. I will lead them in paths that they have not known:

God leads His children down pathways in life that they would have never dreamed of. The picture that usually enters my mind when I heard the word "lead" is one of a shepherd walking out in front of his flock of sheep--leading them down uncertain pathways. Different pathways have different endings. Some will end in sorrow; some with abundant blessing. I'm not referring to the "good and evil pathways", but rather, these are the circumstances that God has chosen for us to go through. He leads us through joyful situations, but He also never lets go of our hands when He takes us through the sorrowful ones. We don't always know how each pathway ends--but our Shepherd is always leading us. 

Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,

God leads His dear children along;

Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night, 

God leads His dear children along.

3. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight.

Just as God turned our hearts from darkness to light, and from the broad path to the narrow way during our conversion; so He also turns our mental darkness to the light of His hope, and from the crooked road of uncertainty to the straightened path of trust in God. When our minds become darkened while struggling with internal emotions, then we tend to wander in the crooked path of hopelessness. But it should not be so. We have a hope, and even in the most drastic situations, that hope still remains because God is faithful and He cannot go against His own promises. "It is in the unknown that fellowship with my Lord is sweetest. It is in the unknown that God's mercy is most beautifully manifested. It is in the unknown that our faith is refined and comes forth shining more brightly." 

Out of my darkness Jesus blood has won the fight

Into His likeness--what a wonderful sight

Making my way into his kingdom so bright

Out of my darkness and into His light. 

4. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

Wrapping up this verse, God sums up with His promises. Because He is God and cannot lie (Numbers 23:19), and because His word always accomplishes His purpose (Isaiah 55:11), so we know that His promise to never forsake us will also remain immovable. Not only does He promise to bring the blind through ways they never imagined; not only does He promise to lead us down paths that we don't know about; not only does He promise to make darkness light and to straighten crooked things; but He also commits to performing these things in our lives. And through it all He says He will never ever forsake His children--no matter how easy or difficult the circumstances may be. "And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed." (Deuteronomy 31:8) Whether you see the next 10 years or 2 hours laid out for you, we need "never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." (Corrie Ten Boom)

To Him our future is a memory. His plans are good. 

In Christ,

Kaleigh