Behold, as the eyes of servants look
to the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He is gracious to us.
— Psalm 123:2
The Lord’s hand is also a hand of leading. As He supplies and supports us, He also leads us. Every time we are clear about the Lord’s leading our life is very purposeful. But when the Lord’s leading is not clear to us then we wonder what we are living for. All kinds of questions come in. It is when the leading is not clear to us that we struggle. Everything becomes frustrating. However, even then the supply is still there. When we can’t handle our situation, the supply becomes support. Even though we are not so sure what is right, we still survive. We still go to meetings, because the Lord’s hand is supporting us and supplying us. However, as we enjoy His support and supply, the leading of the Lord should become clear. Once the leading becomes clear, nothing is difficult. When the leading becomes clear everything we do becomes purposeful.
For example, we may consider whether we should serve the Lord full-time or not. Because we are not clear, we struggle in our consideration. Finally we ask the elders what they think. Suppose they say “no,” and we realize that their “no” is the leading of the Lord. We may try to complain to the Lord about the elders, but He will stop us. We may be frustrated, but by His support and supply we learn to take the practical leading of the Lord through the elders. Then we find that our life becomes purposeful. This is a great blessing.
Out of the Lord’s leading, there is comfort. The Lord’s hand becomes a comfort to us. For example, if we desire to serve the Lord full-time, but the brothers tell us to get a job, we may need comfort. This is also the case if we would like to work, but the Lord is leading us to serve Him full-time. As His leading becomes clear and we become so purposeful, the Lord comforts us. He tells us, “I am with you.” The same hand that leads us also becomes a comfort to us as we obey His leading.
Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 39.
Tomorrow: “The Lord’s Hand of Discipline”