We read in Isaiah 42:16 (NRSV) "I will lead the blind by a road they do not know, by paths they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them."
Can you imagine being blind and walking down a road alone? Not just a nicely paved and leveled sidewalk, rather, the description here is of a dark path with uneven ground. Perhaps with drop offs and crevices. Maybe even scarey animals and noises of the night. You are blind. There is not light coming in from underneath a blindfold. What does the Lord say he will do in this situation?
He says that He will lead us on this road. He will guide the way. He will make the darkness light and level out the ground. These are His promises and His promises never change. They are never broken and His promises last for eternity. Our part is to have faith in these promises and walk that path.
Let's see what Father Abraham did when the Lord made the following promise to him in Genesis 12:1: "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing."
Here is what we read in Hebrews 11:8-10 (NIV) "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."
God told Abraham to go. He did not tell him where he was going. He just said "go". So Abraham went. Abraham went on faith. Period. Paragraph. End of story?
No, not end of story. We really can not know the end of the story because this story picks up on the other side. It picks up in eternity where I would be willing to bet that Father Abraham is still obeying the Lord, trusting in his promises, and receiving his inheritance.
Hebrews 11:1 reads: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
I am sure of Heaven. I am hopeful because I long for a time when I am reunited with those I have loved and lost. I am certain of whom I believe in. I do not see these things with my human eyes, but right now I am as one who is blind. Will you join me on this uncertain path as we, like Father Abraham, receive as an inheritance: the Kingdom of Heaven.
"Have no fear, little flock; for your Father has chosen to give you the Kingdom." Luke 12: 32
I'm smiling!
