Just Around the Riverbend

Life has a way of leading us to places where we simply can't see what's next, doesn’t it? However, we are people who want a straight road with clear signs with a visible destination. Instead, God often leads us to a bend in the river where the current carries us beyond what our eyes can see. Something is out there just around the riverbend. But we can’t see it. We can’t grasp what it might be. It’s simply unknown. And the truth is for us that those moments can be unsettling. Questions inevitably begin to surface. What if things don't work out? What if this changes everything? What if I'm heading toward something I never expected? What if I go around the bend and get stuck where I don’t want to be? Our instinct is to want answers, but the reality of our faith is that God often offers something better. His presence.

The prophet Isaiah delivered a message to the people of Israel from God saying “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:8-11 NIV).

The message from God through Isaiah reveals that God’s perspective is infinitely greater than our own. We see only the stretch of river directly in front of us. Beyond that, we’re blind. But He sees the source of the river, its current, and ultimately, its destination. He sees every twist, turn, and the place where it finally reaches the sea. What feels uncertain to us has never been uncertain to Him. He is the worthy one who holds it all together. Jesus Christ is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word (Hebrews 1:3a NIV). The One who gave His life for us is also the One entrusted with our future. The hands that bear the scars of the cross are the same hands that hold tomorrow. He can be trusted with what’s lying just around the corner because He’s holding it all together.

We may not know what lies just around the riverbend, but we know who’s already there. Faith isn’t the absence of questions. Faith isn’t about putting on a display of strength to make everything seem ok. Faith is choosing to trust the character of Christ when the path ahead is hidden. His wisdom is higher than ours. His plans are better than we can imagine. His promises never fail.

Whatever bend in the river you face today, resist the temptation to measure God's faithfulness by how much of the journey you can see. Instead, measure it by the worthiness of the One who leads you. The Lamb who was found worthy to unfold God's perfect plan is more than worthy to guide your next step.