He Is Our Path

The story is told of a man on an African safari deep in the jungle. The guide before him had a machete and was whacking away the tall weeds and thick underbrush. The traveler, wearied and hot, asked in frustration, “Where are we? Do you know where you are taking me? Where is the path?!” The seasoned guide stopped and looked back at the man and replied, “I am the path.”

I love that story, perhaps mostly because I ask that question from time to time. I have found that living in a small community in South Carolina can be like a safari. “Do you know where I can find Cassatt-Junction Road?” “Sure! Go to where uncle Lem used to have his farm. Turn right by that oak tree where Sally Hoskins was hung by the Yankees back in 1865. If you come to the sight of the Great Barn Fire of ’56, you’ve gone too far. Turn around and go back.”

And who can trust the GPS out here. If you are ever coming home from Lake Wateree at night, for heaven’s sake don’t trust the GPS! It has no idea about dirt roads or wooden bridges!

Have you ever asked God if He was sure He knew where He was taking you? I have, and God’s answer is the same as the safari guide’s...“I am the path.” Even if God did tell me what path I was on, I would be as lost as if I were looking for Cassatt-Junction Road. God sees the Big Picture, and I don’t.

God also saw fit to send me a Guide, however. Jesus promised in John 14, “I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you. The Spirit will show you what is true.” (CEV) The Holy Spirit says, “I am the Path.” Whatever storms of life may rage around us, we have an advocate with the Father. No matter how confusing the directions sometimes seem, (where Uncle Lem used to have his farm) Jesus promises us that He “will not leave us orphans.” (John 14:18 NKJV)