Kristy Mullins and family
Isaiah 42:16 (HCSB)
I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on paths they have not known. I will turn darkness to light in front of them and rough places into level ground. This is what I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.
My life has taken more twists and turns than I would have ever dreamed...twists and turns for which I could not have possibly planned. Things have happened in my life that blindsided me, knocked the wind out of my sails, and broke me beyond what I thought was repairable, but God…
When I found this verse several years ago, I clung to it immediately, and I’ve been holding tight to it ever since. In my research on this verse, I discovered when a lord or king would leave his residence, there would be a group of workers who would take the path ahead of them. These workers would fill in holes, remove fallen trees, and do whatever was necessary to make the ride go smoothly. It wasn’t just for a smooth ride; it was also for the protection of the royalty. They removed traps and routed the lord or king around dangerous territory and terrain.
In this verse, God says He goes before us clearing the way, making the rough places smooth. He is for us. God sees us as royalty. After all, we are the daughters of the One True King. We are His princesses.
It matters not what happens in our life. God has already gone ahead of us. What happens to us does not catch Him unaware. He is not surprised when things happen because He has gone ahead of us.
You think it is difficult raising a strong-willed child? He’s already gone ahead of you putting people in your life and the life of your child to help you through the rough patches. You think the diagnosis of cancer is more than you can bear? He’s already gone before you putting people in your life, provisions, support and sustenance before you EVEN KNEW about the diagnosis of cancer. You may feel as if you are walking blind in a marriage that is falling apart, but God has gone ahead to show you where to go and what to do. Are you looking for Him? Are you listening for Him? Are you willing to follow Him wherever He may lead?
This verse means absolutely NOTHING if you DO NOT FOLLOW.
One other bit of direction from this verse. God says He will turn the darkness to light in front of them. WHERE? IN FRONT. So many people get stuck looking in the rearview mirror and wondering, “What if…” God is wanting to move you to your future. He doesn’t want us living in the past. Where God is there can be no darkness because there is no darkness in Him. And where will God’s light be? IN FRONT OF YOU.
The last bit of this verse brings comfort. “I will not forsake them.” You can take it to the bank He will never leave you nor forsake you regardless of who you are, where you’ve been or what you’ve done or said. If you have believed in Christ as your Lord and Savior and have confessed it with your mouth, you are saved. You are His child, and He will never leave you or forsake you.
When my husband and I were going through fertility treatments, no one we knew had ever gone through such. No one in Belton, Texas, seemed to have a problem getting pregnant at all. They started young, and the joke at church was, “Don’t drink the water because there’s a lot of women expecting.” Honey, I drank so much water at church it’s amazing I could sit through a whole service without a bathroom break! And yet I never got pregnant.
The whole adoption process was not for wimps either. Failed private adoption. Frustration and depression not knowing. If God would just show me where to go and what to do to become a mom, I was willing, but all I heard was crickets during one point of the journey.
But God…
God never left me for one moment. Even when He wasn’t speaking to me, He never left me. He led us down the path of fertility treatments and adoption. Paths we had never traversed. He provided enough light for the step directly in front of us. Two weeks after attending an adoption orientation with our adoption agency we were talking to birth parents. Two weeks after that, we were matched. Two weeks after that, we met our birth parents. Three months after we went to orientation, we were parents to a round-faced cherub.
No matter what comes in life, God has been there to lead us, to make rough places smooth and turning darkness into light, and He will do the same for you.