God's tender mercy … guides our feet to peace

Here’s something you might not already know. Ready? When I get you up in the morning, it is totally Biblical. Seriously! Well it’s not me, personally, who God says should be getting you up, but here’s a newsflash for you. In Luke 1:78-79 God tells us clearly his intent to get us up every morning and set us on the right path. Look what the Bible says. “Because of our God’s tender mercy the dawn will break upon us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Because of God’s tender mercy the dawn will break … to guide our feet into the way of peace.
In one day we can go through a circus of emotions, events, situations, and relationships. One minute we are filled with confidence and the next we are paralyzed by fear of the ‘what-ifs’.  We know all about the verse in 2 Timothy 1:7 that’s all about fear. “For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.” We can let that verse permeate our conscious being, but the cloud doesn’t leave. I’ve heard the word fear is used 365 times in the Bible. Maybe that’s because God knew we would have issues with fear every day. Well if that’s the case, we can all take comfort in realizing we are not alone in our fear. One thing I’ve come to recognize is that fear is at the root of a whole slew of emotions and it gets in the way of everything good that God is trying to produce in me and from me. Isaiah 41 over and over gets in our faces and says ‘Do not fear”. Just stop it! If we dig into why we feel like we’re in the dark about something, it might be fear. Listen, the same God who wrote these words in Isaiah 41:13 is the same God today. He can’t say it any plainer than this “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”
Maybe instead of fear, you feel sort of lost without a compass. Oh boy! I’ve sure been there with you. That fork in the road doesn’t have 2 prongs, it’s got more like 5 and they all look right. If they don’t look right, they at least look like a possibility. There is no easy answer for those forks in the road except if you aren’t clear on which choices are right for you, stop and pray – until you know the path that God is clearing for you to take. I think David felt lost – a lot. Have you ever seen a picture of the shepherd’s pasture? It was not a manicured lawn surrounded by a split rail fence. Let’s remember, when we feel lost, that we are precious to God and he doesn’t want us to feel lost. Psalm 100:3 says “Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us and we belong to him; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”
Today we begin a new week. I want to start strong, don’t you? God says he will strengthen us if we are committed to him. 2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” What is on your agenda today and as you anticipate the week ahead? Remember Luke 1:78 “Because of God’s tender mercy the dawn will break … to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Ready team? Let’s get out there.
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