Direction

I seek thy aid, I ask direction,

Teach me to do what pleaseth Thee;

I can bear toil, endure affliction,

Only thy leadings let me see. –Anon

If I didn’t know better, this poem sounds like one of my prayers. I believe every one of us wishes we could receive that bolt of lightning or to hear God’s voice giving us clear direction. Google maps isn’t helpful in this regard.

I also don’t find it helpful to read the words of Carlye who says, “Of all paths a man can strike into, there is, at any given moment, a best path….” If he is right why is it so hard to find? For me my comfort comes from knowing that there is a path. God hasn’t given up on me getting lost so often, that he hasn’t relegated me to a chair in the corner. For all of us there is one direction in which all space is open. We are each like a canoe in a running river, and although we may bump up against a few rocks and go over a few waterfalls, ultimately if we stay God’s course he will sweep us serenely into that ever deepening channel and ultimately into the “infinite sea.”

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About the author

Webb Hubbell is the former Associate Attorney General of The United States. His novels, When Men Betray, Ginger Snaps, A Game of Inches, The Eighteenth Green, and The East End are published by Beaufort Books and are available online or at your local bookstore. When Men Betray won one of the IndieFab awards for best novel in 2014. Ginger Snaps and The Eighteenth Green won the IPPY Awards Gold Medal for best suspense/thriller. His latest, “Light of Day” will be on the bookstands soon.