Do you know where you are going?

But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. (Job 23:10-11)

There are times when we feel like our path is a bit more complicated than we'd like it to be. We find ourselves knee deep in some muddle or another, wishing things could be different very quickly, but they just don't seem to change all that fast. In the 'testing pathway', will we remain faithful to what we believe, while wrestling with everything we find 'contrary' to the way we hoped life would turn out? If we struggle just a bit with the test, we aren't alone. Most of us struggle to make sense of things at times, but when we still trust God in spite of the difficulties, we are going to make it through!

God knows where we are going, even when we don't. That is good news for someone today who is on some 'path' to who knows where, wondering if God has abandoned them. He hasn't! In fact, if you look closer, you will see he has not only not abandoned you, but he has been carrying you for the past while because you have grown so weary in your journey! The 'testing pathway' may not be finished, but he hasn't abandoned you to your own devices. In fact, he has been helping you to sort out the stuff you want to take away from the journey and the garbage you will leave behind.

Stay and follow - two very distinctive words that describe commitment. In the midst of the test, it isn't uncommon to want to escape. If you are anything like me, you look around at the circumstances and take inventory. You find yourself looking for the good in the moment but being quite certain that nothing good will ever come out of it. Then you see a glimmer of light, a bit of hope dawns, and you trudge on a little bit further. More light comes, maybe only a sliver, but it is light nonetheless. You move on and follow the leading of that light. That is how we make it through, my friends. One tiny step at a time. One little battle with our emotions that want us to just give up after another. 

We likely have no way of judging what will await us at the end of the 'testing pathway', but when we stay the course, following his lead all the way, we are sure to find what God has prepared. Something that resembles refined, pure gold. Just sayin!