All the way my Savior leads me-
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.
Fanny Cosby
In my early morning Bible study, I discover this hymn was hers. From a more modern tune by Chris Tomlin, I was searching for the lyrics. Now, I walk fearful Daisy the dog, and meditate on truth.
Fanny was blind. Jesus, the guide she could trust, must have been essential in her faith walk. I think of all the times I bang a shin against the furniture in the dark with my clumsiness. I can see and still get hurt. She might have had friends who led her poorly. I wonder if they caused her to bump into obstacles. Did their inconsistent care make it hard for Fanny to trust?
The Bible encourages us to “live by faith and not by sight,” (2 Corinthians 5:7, NIV), but it is not easy.
Fearful Daisy trots along beside me. Sometimes a low thunder rumble or a scary school bus causes her to panic. She forgets that she is being led by someone who has never let her down. She is safe!
Daisy cannot understand she is safe. The thunder, the large vehicle or the stranger on the street are all things I can protect her from. She forgets to place her trust in the one who leads her.
I wonder if Fanny’s blindness actually made her more able to trust the One who through life had been her guide. He knows every obstacle or danger we face. He sees every inch of our path and He leads us all the way.
Like the psalmist, I can remind myself,
“Blessed are those whose strength is in the Lord, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage…they go from strength to strength” (Psalm 84:5,7).
As a new week begins, I want to be more like trusting Fanny and less like fearful Daisy. I want to dwell in trust and faith. As I travel through this land, He helps me fix my eyes on the unseen goal.
He leads me all the way.
All the way my Savior leads me-
Cheers each winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for ev’ry trial,
Feeds me with the living bread.
Though my weary steps may falter
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see.
Another morning, a different challenge comes. Thunder storms punctuated our night. Now stormy moods of others threaten to knock me off balance. It is hard to remain kind on mornings like this. Faithful Daisy follows me around as I dodge and evade conflict. I am needy.
“As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with blessings” (Psalm 84:6, NIV).
Baca means weeping, and I almost tear up at the disconnect I feel with my adult kids. They probably don’t realize how much their love matters to me. I surely don’t feel strong enough to turn the tide of the morning mood. I want to be the cheerful one, the patient one, the strong one. But small conflicts cause my steps to falter. I doubt they see God’s power in me. Then, I remember, He loves to use weakness!
He whispers to my heart:
“My grace is sufficient for you, My power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV). I pause, I breathe and I feel hope inflating my heart, raising it up from the spot where it fell a few moments ago.
Grace is not based upon anything I possess. It is a gift for the one who knows her neediness. I can have cheer, strength and joy to give away freely. I may falter in my step. But, surprise! God catches my fall and broadens the path beneath me so that my ankles do not turn (Psalm 18:36). He rescues me because He delights in me! (Psalm 18:19)
I know He will lead me through every stormy morning. He faithfully guides me all the way.
I remember Fanny, the author of this hymn. Did she have valleys of weeping? I’m guessing she probably did. In her blindness she trusted the One who saw every struggle of her heart.
I look over at silly Daisy the dog. Those nighttime storms had her shaking and overwhelmed. She wanted a place of safety where she could run and hide. Now her thunderstorm has passed. She is fine.
Father, please help me find Your grace when I am knocked off balance. Show me how to love without faltering so that Your power is seen in my weakness. Thank you for leading me all the way. Your grace is sufficient for me.
“For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).
All the way my Savior leads me-
Oh, the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day,
This my song through endless ages;
Jesus led me all the way.
Last year, I was able to participate in a study about walking through suffering with others. One of my faith heroes, Vaneetha Risner, wrote this study. I was selected to pilot it with some other ladies. Then, I got to share it with five dear friends in my community. This experience was life changing for me!
During the past nine years, I have walked alongside my precious husband, Jeff, through way more suffering than I could have imagined. I long to be his “Ezer Kenegdo,”(A Hebrew term meaning powerful helper), but many times I fall far short. Instead of giving him comfort, I add my own struggles onto the weight he bears. Isn’t that the way of things in this life? None of us loves perfectly!
Surprising myself, I entered a community of sufferers and tried to hold out hope and comfort to others. In my own strength, I had nothing at all to offer. But the Holy Spirit filled my deficiency and used our connections to bring fresh hope and perspective to us all.
One of Vaneetha’s main points is the 3 P’s of hope. When we are experiencing painful trials, we can trust God’s:
Presence is available to us. He will never abandon us! We can learn to cry out to Him and find help for our loneliness, sorrow and struggles.
Purpose is powerful. God is using our difficulties to help us and others get to know His power and love. We can trust that everything we go through is doing something for our good and for God’s glory.
Promise of heaven. If we follow Jesus, this life is “so short” compared to eternity! This is easy to say, but harder to trust.
Monday was Jeff’s 58th birthday! I remember when we first got his melanoma diagnosis 9 years ago. Fear numbed my brain. I couldn’t find inner strength to accept this terrifying news. My kids would lose their dad to cancer as teenagers, the very thing that happened to me when I was only 15. How could the worst years of my life be replayed in the lives of my children?
Now, I look back at all Jeff has gone through: two car accidents, three kinds of skin cancer, kidney, prostate and brain surgery, diagnosed and undiagnosed neurological, digestive, and psychological afflictions. He is still fighting, still present in the lives of his loved ones. This doesn’t seem “so short” at all.
Then, here’s Fanny singing about eternity in the final verse of her hymn. She actually lived for 94 years! All of her years were without sight. She once said,
“If I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind…for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Savior.”
I want that sort of faith! As I walk with my husband through his “light and momentary afflictions,” I imagine that day when all the pain is rolled away and he is full of relief and joy. I wonder if that will be more satisfying to him than a quick healing could possibly have been.
Do you ever imagine that moment when you will see Jesus after this life has passed? Do you, like Fanny, long for healed vision to fully behold your Savior? Do you, like me, anticipate his voice lovingly calling your name? Or do you, like Jeff, look towards that moment when you run into His arms and He holds you in a wonderful embrace? Whether we live to be 58 or 94, that day is coming SOON.
Maybe you don’t understand this longing. Are you trying to scrape through life with enough strength and positivity to bear the sorrows of a broken world? Are you getting worn out from trying to keep it up all on your own? Listen to Jesus’ words,
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). The same comfort Fanny, Vaneetha, Jeff and I rely on is available to all who come. We don’t need to be strong enough on our own.
I can’t imagine the fullness coming once this life is through. But when I get discouraged and feel my tries at love fall short, I am thankful for the promises of eternity.
“Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame” (Romans 10:11).
He will lead us all the way!
