How Do I Know Where To Go?
Psalm 23:3-5
Most of us know the story of the first Thanksgiving,at least, we know the Pilgrim version. But how many of us know the Indian viewpoint?
No, I’m not talking about some revisionist, p.c. version of history. I’m talking about the amazing story of the way God used an Indian named Squanto as a special instrument of His providence.
Historical accounts of Squanto’s life vary, but historians believe that around 1608,more than a decade before the Pilgrims landed in the New World,a group of English traders, led by a Captain Hunt, sailed to what is today Plymouth, Massachusetts. When the trusting Wampanoag Indians came out to trade, Hunt took them prisoner, transported them to Spain, and sold them into slavery.
But God and God’s providence had an amazing plan for one of the captured Indians,a boy named Squanto.
Squanto was bought by a well-meaning Spanish monk, who treated him well and taught him the Christian faith. Squanto eventually made his way to England and worked in the stable of a man named John Slaney. Slaney sympathized with Squanto’s desire to return home, and he promised to put the Indian on the first vessel bound for America.
It wasn’t until 1619,ten years after Squanto was first kidnapped, that a ship was found. Finally, after a decade of exile and heartbreak, Squanto was on his way home.
But when he arrived in Massachusetts, more heartbreak awaited him. An epidemic had wiped out Squanto’s entire village.
We can only imagine what must have gone through Squanto’s mind. Why had God allowed him to return home, against all odds, only to find his loved ones dead?
A year later, the answer came. A shipload of English families arrived and settled on the very land once occupied by Squanto’s people. Squanto went to meet them, greeting the startled Pilgrims in English.
According to the diary of Pilgrim Governor William Bradford, Squanto ’became a special instrument sent of God for [our] good . . . He showed [us] how to plant [our] corn, where to take fish and to procure other commodities . . . and was also [our] pilot to bring [us] to unknown places for [our] profit, and never left [us] till he died."
Who but God could so miraculously weave together the lives of a lonely Indian and a struggling band of Englishmen? While you’re enjoying turkey and pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving, share with your family the Indian side of the Thanksgiving story.
Tell them about Squanto, the ’special tool sent by God to save the Pilgrims and as a result changed the course of American history .
Charles Colson, BreakPoint Commentary, November 25, 1998, (c) 1998 Prison Fellowship Ministries
The Providence of God says that He does things ahead of time to make the way ready for His children to walk down.
I want to show you today why it is so important for believers to follow God’s paths.
God’s Paths are Right – The word used here is not our normal word for Righteousness. It really is the simple word for RIGHT. They are the paths God wants to lead us down—the right paths. They are designed to make you stronger. They ARE designed to make you more godly. They are designed by God to lead you to places where He can accomplish His plans.
Don’t say, “I feel God is leading me…” if where you are going isn’t going to make you more godly. God’s paths are right—they are righteous, they are straight.
Look at Deuteronomy with me: 8:6; 10:2; 11:22; 19:9 Get the message? Walk n His ways.
Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to a man—but the end of that way is a way of death.” Stubborn, self-willed sheep persist in grazing in old pastures and walk down well-worn paths. Most of us don’t want to be led. We want our own ways. But we don’t know the best way to go. We don’t know the best way to find spiritual growth. We don’t know the best way to get out of trouble. But we want to go our own way. We’re just like sheep. We need shepherd who will take us down the right paths.
We need to pray, God, keep me from paths that won’t make me stronger. Keep me from activities that might damage my wool and then damage your reputation. The Lord’s Prayer has that little phrase in there “Lead us not into temptation…” I think this is what Christ means. Don’t let me go down paths that I know I’m going to stumble in. Don’t allow me to go down paths where I may sin. Stop me…!
Notice what he says about these paths:
1. Sometimes they may lead through dark valleys. Every mountain has its valleys. We want the mountaintop—we want the lush pastures. And we don’t understand why we have to go through the valleys to get there. Treacherous and dangerous paths are just as much a part of God’s plan as green pastures are. We want the green pastures. We want the still waters. But God sometimes wants us to go through trouble—so we learn to rely on Him. Sometimes the path may take you where you can’t see tomorrow. Sometimes they may take you through some of the deepest crises in life. Sometimes they may take away everything that you hold closest. Sometimes they may be really dark.
Remember the scripture reading for today from Psalm 107 (vs. 14,15) He brings us out of darkness so we can give thanks for His lovingkindness.
Don’t forget to praise God for bringing you out. Don’t forget to thank God for giving you the grace to endure it. If we forget, then God’s purpose for bringing us through is lost (and we might have to go through it again until we learn the lesson that we are supposed to thank Him for bringing us through).
2. Sometimes there may be evil! It does not say there will be no evil when you are in God’s will. It says you need not FEAR when you are in God’s will—because God is with you.
3. Sometimes we’re going to have enemies. Sometimes there are going to be predators. Sometimes there are going to be disasters.
The only survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small uninhabited island. He cried out to God to save him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.
Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a rough hut and put his few possessions in it. But then one day, after hunting for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; he fell to the ground overcome with grief.
Early the next day, though, a ship anchored off the island and rescued him.
’How did you know I was here?" he asked the crew.
’We saw your smoke signal," they replied.
Though it may not seem so now, your present difficulty may be instrumental to your future happiness. What seems like a disaster may just be the way that God moves us off the deserted island and back on track again.
But I have to have the faith to believe that God’s paths are right. I have to have the faith to believe that God has a direction He is taking me. I have to believe that God has a banquet prepared for me and all I have to do is trust Him to get me THROUGH this valley.
II Corinthians 5:7 -- I think it is significant that Paul tells us to walk by faith and not by sight in the middle of a chapter in II Corinthians that is talking about death! Even when God’s path leads near death, I need to walk by faith.
God’s Provision is Ready. Notice the encouragement these verses give us:
1. His leading -- he doesn’t just send us, he leads us there. This assures us of His presence and His leadership. We don’t have to wander and wonder. We’ve got a guide.
2. His presence -- We’re not alone. We don’t have to wonder if He knows what we’re going through. We don’t have to worry if He will forget us. He is there with us—He’ll never leave us or forsake us. He doesn’t just send us, He goes with us.
3. His rod and staff – the rod is a combination of boomerang and billy-club. It is the weapon of protection (along with the slingshot). The shepherd protects the sheep with his rod and cares for them with his staff. God cares for you. God watches over you. God guards you. Sure you might face danger and get hurt. But that doesn’t mean God doesn’t care or is incapable of protecting you. Sin happens. Disaster happens. But I need to live my life under the firm confidence that God is watching out for me.
4. His preparation. He doesn’t just send us out there. He has already been in our future. The group that came for a concert a few months ago (Beyond the Ashes) sang a song with a great message: “He’s already climbed that mountain.” Oh, Yeah! There is no mountain you face that God hasn’t already climbed. There is no valley you walk through that He doesn’t know the way. This is a picture of how the shepherd would go to the winter grazing area ahead of taking the flock there and make sure the poisonous weeds are gone and that there is plenty of water and that the snake holes have been dealt with and he has scouted out the potential of predators. There is no place He lead you that he hasn’t already gone on ahead and cleared out the weeds and predators. He knows the right path because He has already gone down that path and he knows where the danger is.
This table that is “prepared in the presence of my enemies” probably is a reference to a mesa or plateau (a table top) of grazing ground that He went ahead and checked out before taking his sheep there. “Preparing a table in the presence of my enemies” is a statement of provision and protection—and His preparing the place… and delivering me from the intimidation of my enemies.
God’s Purpose is Radical – it is for His name’s sake. His reputation is on the line.
His job is to produce healthy sheep and good wool. If He does not guide in right paths, the wool won’t be good. His reputation and His glory is at stake. So He is going to guide us into paths and places where He will get the praise and glory for bringing us through.
God’s purpose is radical because it is for His name’s sake. What makes this radical is that we think God is there to meet our needs and serve our happiness. He does all that. But not for our benefit, but His.
Ephesians 1:5,6 Predestined and adopted…to the praise of His glory.
God’s purpose in taking care of us is “FOR HIS NAME’S SAKE.” He wants people to understand that He is God. People will understand that when they see healthy sheep. So He leads us in paths that will make us healthy. He protects us and provides for us so that we are healthy sheep. That enhances God’s reputation. That builds up and magnifies God’s glory.
My salvation is another place where God’s reputation is on the line. John 10:28 says that the Good shepherd knows his sheep, they follow Him and no one can pluck them out of His hand. He will not fail.
Andrew Wyeth painted picture of General Lafayette’s quarters near Chadds Ford, Pa., with a sycamore tree behind the building. When his brother first saw the painting, Andrew wasn’t finished with it. Andrew showed his brother a lot of extra drawings of the trunk and the sycamore’s gnarled roots, and his brother asked, "Where’s all that in the picture?" "It’s not in the picture," he said. "For me to get what I want in the part of the tree that’s showing, I’ve got to know thoroughly how it is anchored in back of the house." I find that remarkable. He could draw the tree above the house with such authenticity because he knew exactly how the thing was in the ground.
When we know that we are anchored firmly in the providence of God, we can stand firm and solid. We might not go around broadcasting to everyone about the roots we have, but those roots are important if we ever hope to stand firm.
