We are told in the 107th Psalm of the troubles and the deliverance of the children of Israel. "They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He deliveredthem out of their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation." (Psalm 107:4-7)
The Lord himself went in the way before them, to search out the place for them to pitch their tents in, and He accompanied them; and all the ways of the Lord are right ways.
Not an Easy Way
But the way was not smooth, and it was beset with difficulties. The very first march brought them into a narrow place between the mountains and the sea, where there was no escape from a pursuing enemy. "The right way" in which the Lord led them was "a solitary way," a desert place, where there was no water, and where they seemed likely to die of thirst.
Because they found difficulties, they at once jumped to the conclusion that God was not leading them, and they murmured against Moses, charging him with intending to kill them. But Moses was only following the Lord's leading.
Judging by Appearances
How often we find Christians today acting just as ancient Israel did. They start some enterprise, and if everything is favorable they conclude that the Lord is opening the way for them, and leading them; but as soon as difficulties or reverses come, they are thrown into confusion, and think that they have been mistaken, and that God was not leading them, or else that He has forsaken them.
The consequence of this sort of judging is that they are never certain of their course. They are always more or less in doubt, and fluctuating in their emotions,--sanguine and rejoicing when things go smoothly, and despondent and faint-hearted when the way is difficult. Such judgment is most faulty, as Christ says: "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." (John 7:24)
The Way of the Cross
The truth is that the only right way is the way of the cross. Christ is the way, and we cannot know Him at all, except as Christ crucified. When He was on this earth, the only way back to heaven was by the cross. Indeed, it was the cross that brought Him from heaven to earth. By the cross He was lifted up to a seat at the right hand of God; and by that same cross He will come again "with power and great glory." (Matthew 24:30)
He did not become discouraged and turn back when He saw the cross; and the exhortation to us is: "Consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds." (Hebrews 12:3) "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings." (1 Peter 4:12)
Trying to "See the Way Clear"
How often we hear people say that they "can't see their way clear," or that they are waiting until they can see the way clear ahead of them. How foolish! It is utterly impossible for anybody to tell what will take place one minute in the future. We cannot hope to see our way ahead, except as we see Christ, who is the way.
God knows the end from the beginning; and the way that He leads us is the right way, even though it is dark as night. The sea, which shut off the progress of the Israelites, was itself the way for them to go. God had chosen it, and therefore it was the way of safety.
Then as we commit the keeping of our souls to Him, let us not murmur when His way leads through the deep waters or the trackless desert, but follow on, every singing:
Your way, not mine, O Lord,
However dark it be!
Lead me by your own hand,
And choose the path for me.
I dare not choose my lot;
I would not if I might;
You choose for me, my God,
So shall I walk aright.
The kingdom that I seek
Is yours; so let the way
That leads to it be yours,
Else I must surely stray.
Take now my cup, and it
With joy or sorrow fill,
As best to You may seem;
You choose my good and ill.
--Horatius Bonar, Hymn: Thy Way, not Mine, O Lord, 1857.
--Present Truth, January 23, 1902--Psalm 107:4-7.