One of my favourite songs is Jeremy Camp’s ‘Walk By Faith’ (You can listen to this on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT9wH8t4Hzw). The song was written during ‘the deepest, darkest pit of despair’ (according to the singer), when his young wife was dying of ovarian cancer.
“Will I believe You when You say
Your hand will guide my every way?
Will I receive the words You say
Every moment of every day?
Well, I will walk by faith
Even when I cannot see
Because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me”
Walking by faith is not easy. There’s so much we don’t understand in this world and probably never will understand. But one thing that this song reminds me of is that God is able to use every experience we go through for good. ‘This broken road’, whatever that means for us, is actually woven into God’s plan for good.
We’ve come a long way to get to this place of owning St Mark’s. It has always been a walk of faith, because naturally speaking, there was no way a small church would ever have the resources to own a six figure building. We’ve had hurdles to overcome, moments of doubt, times of disappointment and despair. But every twist and turn in the path ultimately teaches us valuable lessons.
We’d all prefer a straight road, with no bumps. Our goal in travelling is usually to get from A to B in the quickest time possible. Meandering along country roads is fine for holidays when we’ve all the time in the world, but it’s not much use for everyday travel. God, ironically, doesn’t seem to be in as much of a hurry as we are, though. He’s more interested in shaping our characters as we go along.