PROVERBS 19:20-21

23 January 2023



Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

PROVERBS 19:20-21
A rough path lies ahead
But You already knew
the Bible says that I'd be wise
To follow closely You

Your Word is the lantern
The rugged path won't win
It's the grueling steps in between
I have to trust You in

Sometimes faith comes easy
Other times - strenuous
The hand-held lantern to the ground
Truly is arduous

'Tis not til I shrink very low
With lantern in the dirt
That I can see the path clearly
While You hold "my great hurt"

A dark path lies ahead
It's not that You're not light
You want me close - right by your side
To illuminate my sight

my inspiration 

I believe that, in guiding us, God deals with us as He dealt with the Israelites as He led them out of Egypt. The first crossing of the sea was made very easy. The guidance could not have been simpler: the east wind blew and divided the sea before the people had to cross. Not so much as a foot was wet, except perhaps by a wind-driven spray. Moreover, it was impossible. as it were, to disobey, since they were pursued by Pharaoh’s chariots and horsemen. (Exodus 14)

But how difficult it was on the second occasion. The priests had to walk into the strong current of a flooded river and stand still there. What an order to scoff at, and what a site it would pose to other men! But it was not until they obeyed – without a particle of visible proof that they were doing right – and carried the ark right into the river, that the water rolled back before them. (Joshua 3)

So it may be for us as we go with God..

If only the next step is clear, then the one thing to do is take it! Don’t pledge your Lord or yourself to any steps beyond what you know. You don’t see them yet.

Once when I was climbing at night, in a forest before there was a made path, I learned what was meant by the words of Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, and a light for my path.” I had only a lantern, and had to hold it very low or I would certainly have slipped on those rough rocks. 

We don’t walk spiritually by electric light, but by a hand-held lantern. And a lantern shows only the next step – not several steps ahead.

Amy Carmichael, Candles in the Dark, pp. 41,43


My sweet Dad, John Kennedy, was diagnosed with ALS on July 19, 2022. He is braving the most devastating diagnosis that I could imagine. In prayer, he refers to this trial as “my great hurt,” and I never want to forget this.

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