Matthew 6:6 “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Each and every one of us are traveling on a road, and each one of us has our personal journey. The Scriptures talk a lot about walking and for me, my path has been very rocky this past year. The journey of grief and loss has been long and painful, but I have found some silver linings along the way. There can be beauty on my lonely travels when someone comes alongside me and walks with me together for a period of time. When I find a like-minded friend who is walking in the same direction, it is so refreshing to have some deep and meaningful conversation; an edifying and encouraging friend is a treasure and when I spend time with my friend, the passage is a little less lonely and sometimes it is just plain fun. When I find another Mom who has also lost a child, I can walk down into the deep valleys and travel through long tunnels, however, I can actually see a light at the end of the tunnel and again my path is not as difficult and the road is not as rocky. I find hope and assurance that I am not alone and it is comforting to know that there are others who have gone before me. But the One who is constantly by my side is my heavenly Father who never leaves me on my pilgrimage, He never lets my foot stumble and He always is a light in the deepest, darkest trenches I have wandered in to lay my head down for awhile. My Lord has walked with me as I go through the mud and the mire and He has pulled me out of places where I get trapped and am unable to move, and He has been a light upon my path and a lamp unto my feet.
Isaiah 43:1-2 says, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” We have a Savior, and our God is by nature our Savior, both temporarily and eternally, and He promises that He will deliver us, that He has redeemed us; He promises that even though we will have waters that threaten to drown us, rivers that threaten to wash over us, fire that threatens to burn us and flames that threaten to set us ablaze, these perils on our journey will not keep us from our final destination and, in fact, these dangers we are confronted with will refine us and make us stronger if we allow our Savior to go before us on our journey.
Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God.” It is so easy for us to do things in secret on our journey of life, but in reality there is nothing done in secret, we cannot hide from our Lord, He sees our rising up and sitting down; He knows our words before they are even spoken; He sees our heart and knows our thoughts and every single thing we do in secret is known by Him. But He also hears our secret cries; He catches every tear we shed and puts it in a bottle; He is acquainted with our pain and grief; He is the Man of sorrows who has walked where we have walked. Prayer places me in the secret place with my Father who dwells right in the middle of my everyday circumstances and when I go into that place that is my secret place, I find refuge, I find strength and I find my best friend who walks with me and talks with me and Who knows my name and Who calls me His own.
– Melody
